Silent Voices
by WickedgreenPhantom
Summary: She is a Norwegian girl silenced by a language barrier. He is a boy silenced from birth, born profoundly deaf. Both thrown into a mainstream American high school. Facing tests,bullies & the urge to be heard. Will they be able to communicate with each other, or will their voices remain silenced? Jelsa AU
1. Chapter 1

Elsa sat with her face pressed miserably against the window of her grandparent's car. The tears fell silently from her eyes while she watched the familiarity of her home fading away.

Memories of the last 17 years of her life played in her mind as the car wove through the tree-lined streets of Arendelle, Norway. Her blue eyes glossed over the colourful buildings that she adored and the hills in the background. She let her eyes wander to the far distance where the imposing North Mountain stood watch over the city. She heard a happy shriek from outside her window and turned to watch. Her eyes settled on a young girl, no older than five, who had run to pose in front of the old Arendelle castle. She let out a small chuckle as the girl's father pulled out his camera to snap a photo of the youngster.

She looked over the large castle-turned-museum and the people that were weaving through it's gates and she smiled. Suddenly, a memory of her own time at the castle came to mind and she shook her head.

As children, her and Anna had been fascinated by the grand castle. They used to love to hear stories of the time when Arendelle had been a kingdom and was ruled by kings and queens. Together, they would beg their parents to take them to visit the castle while they were dressed in their prettiest dresses. Once they had arrived at the grounds, they would curtsy and spin around. They used to love to pretend that they were royalty and would eagerly announce themselves as Princess Elsa and Princess Anna of Arendelle to all who would listen.

"Elsa," her mother's voice called before she leaned back to softly place a hand on her daughter's knee. "It will be okay. Arendelle will always be here to visit."

She turned to look at her mother. She could see the concern in her mother's hazel eyes as she looked at her, patiently waiting for her response. She opened her mouth to speak, but no words came out. Instead, she offered her mother a bleak smile and turned to stare at her sister, who was casually flicking through a teen magazine.

Sighing, she leaned back against her seat. She couldn't understand her sister's flippant attitude towards their move. While she loved Anna dearly, it often felt like they were two different people Especially when it had come to the move.

Their neurosurgeon father, Walt, and mother, Lillian, had gathered them six months earlier to tell them the bad news. Her father had accepted a position at Great Eastern, a large hospital in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and would be uprooting their family. Their reactions had been completely different.

Anna had been overjoyed. Her mind had filled with the promise of American life that was depicted in various teen movies and television shows. Stereotypes or not, she was convinced that her new life would consist of her joining the school cheerleading squad, accompanying school sports stars to a variety of dances and spending her weekends browsing the mall with her new friends. Elsa had tried to warn her sister that their was more to their new country than what was depicted in fiction, but had given up and had allowed the 14-year-old to keep her optimism.

She, on the other hand, was dreading the move. She was not as outgoing as her younger sister. Whereas Anna found it easy to make friends, she took her time warming up to people. She had a small, select group of friends that she'd had since the first grade, Ingrid and Martine. Together, the trio had managed to fly under the radar and had remained largely overlooked by the kids at their school, which was exactly how they had liked it.

* * *

><p>"Papa, when we arrive in the United States I will call you Dad and Mama will be Mom," Anna sad, watching as their father stepped through the security at the airport. "In America they say Mom and Dad."<p>

Walt chuckled. Turning around, he smiled at his youngest daughter. "Alright, Anna, if you insist. So long as you still listen to us. That is all that your mother and I ask for."

Elsa frowned and turned to look between her parents. With all her concern at leaving her home, she had not stopped to consider what else might change. She'd never even thought that she might be expected to change the way she approached her parents. Instead, she had been too focused on the prospect of having to rely almost entirely on English as her primary language.

Both her and Anna could speak English. They had learnt it from an early age. However, their approach to the language was different. Anna was confident in speaking it and would regularly listen to music, watch movies and converse in English with native speakers. She, on the other hand, preferred to speak in her native Norwegian. Academically, her grasp on English was perfect and she could read and write with few problems. However, when it came to her oral and aural English she lacked confidence. All of a sudden she would find herself stumbling over pronunciation and sentence structure as her knowledge seemingly went out the window.

* * *

><p>After a long flight, which had lasted just under eight hours, their plane had touched down in their new home of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA.<p>

Elsa had been tired when she had stepped off the plane. Groggily, she had followed her father while he had led them through customs. He had happily presented their papers to the customs officer who had politely welcomed them to their new homeland. She had then allowed herself to be whisked through to the baggage carousel where a hospital representative had been waiting for them from behind a small sign. The stranger had then greeted them cheerily and had gone with them to grab their baggage.

Once they had collected their luggage, they had headed for the car. She had lagged behind and had watched while her father had talked with his new co-worker. Anna had remained close to their father's side and had happily quizzed the stranger about the must-haves of American life.

The car ride to their new home had been glum. She had sat in the backseat with her sister and mother and had listened patiently while her father had explained how the hospital had organised a furnished townhouse for them to rent and how they had even helped him to lease a new car.

"The hospital staff have been fantastic. They have really gone out of the way to help make this transition as smooth as possible," her father had said while he'd leaned back to beam at his family. "Of course, once we settle in, we can look at finding our own home and filling it with furniture of our own choice."

She had simply nodded before she'd redirected her attention to the foreign scenery outside the window. She hadn't wanted new furniture, or a new home. She had wanted Arendelle.

After a thirty minute drive, they had finally arrived in their new home in the suburb of Burgess. Her eyes had widened when the car had pulled into the driveway of a two-story townhouse in a small cul-de-sac. Stepping out of the car, she had stretched her legs and looked around. Each home in the neighbourhood appeared remarkably similar. A small portion of the homes had the American flag on display, which only served to remind her that she was a long, long way from home.

"Our home is in a relatively new development," her father smiled, gently placing his hand on her shoulder. "I have been told that there is a nice park right around the corner. There are also bus stops close by that will take you right into the city, or to a shopping mall."

She smiled at him and moved towards the boot of the car. Carefully, she hauled her suitcase to the ground and followed her father as he led her inside the new house. She stopped in the entrance to look around at the strange furnishings that filled the adjacent rooms. A loud shriek could be heard from upstairs as Anna lay claim to one of the bedrooms. A small card lay on coffee table along with a bouquet of flowers to welcome them to their new home. She let out a sigh. All around her people continued to repeat the word home, but this place was not her home. Arendelle was, and always would be, her home.

Her home was loaded with memories and well-loved furniture. Furniture such as the couch that had somehow managed to survive over the years, despite the fact that Anna loved to jump on it whenever she was excited. Or the small recliner by the window in the lounge room where she loved to curl up with a blanket and read- especially on rainy days. Her home had warmth and love. This house was something out of a display catalogue. It looked nice, but it had no heart.

Sighing, she made her way upstairs to the room that had been left for her. Pushing open the door, she took in the large bed with the matching bookcase, desk, bedside table and the built in robe. Everything about the room was bland and uninviting- even the plush white comforter that lay on the bed added to the blandness of the room.

"I know that it's not much right now, but we will go to the shops soon. Your grandparents have sent us a bit of money for you and Anna so that you can personalise your rooms," her mother said, smiling as she entered the room. "Your father is currently on the phone. He is organising for our belongings from Arendelle to be delivered."

* * *

><p>Elsa and her family had been residents of the United States for a week. In that short time they had been quick to set themselves up. Her parents had wasted no time organising social security numbers and bank accounts for them all. They had even seen to it that her and Anna had been enrolled in the local high school.<p>

As promised, her mother had taken her and Anna shopping at their local mall. There they had purchased school supplies as well as accessories to decorate their new bedrooms. She had opted to not purchase a lot of things and had chosen to stick to the belongings that she'd had sent over from Arendelle. However, Anna had wasted no time in shopping for herself. She had eagerly pulled items off the shelf and had dumped them into their trolley.

"Are you girls ready for tomorrow," her father asked, pausing in between mouthfuls of Kjøttkaker. "It's a big day for you, starting school."

"Of course, Dad," Anna replied, swallowing a lump of food. "I can't wait to meet everyone. I think that I'd go crazy if I had to hang around here any longer."

Frowning, she watched the exchange. She could sense her sister's excitement and knew that she was eagerly anticipating the start of the school week, but she wasn't as eager. She didn't feel that she would ever be ready to start school. Her mother had been quick to point out that Burgess High was considered one of the best public schools in the city, but she wasn't convinced.

"What about you, Elsa" her father asked. "Are you ready for school?"

She swallowed the last of her potato and glanced at him. "No, Papa," she replied, honestly. "Sunday night always seems to come too quickly. I'm not ready for school."

"Oh, Elsa, it will be fun!" Anna broke in as she reached over to nudge her. "We are talking about cheerleading, dances and hot boys. I definitely plan on finding a hot American boyfriend to impress my friends back in Norway with. You never know, you may even find a boyfriend as well."

She chuckled. Shifting in her seat, she turned to raise her eyebrow at her sister. "Anna, I don't need or want a boyfriend," she protested. "I am far more concerned with my grades and being able to understand my teachers and classmates."

"You will be fine, Elsa," her father began, fixing his gaze on her. "You are a very smart girl. You just need more confidence with your English. You can start by using it more around home. From now on, I want us all to try and rely mostly on English when at home."

She nodded. Shifting on her seat, she could see the wide smiles on her family as they looked at her. Taking a deep breath, she affixed a smile to her face. She carefully tidied her plates and excused herself, placing her used dishes in the sink before she left the kitchen. Anna's happy voice trailed through the house as she climbed the stairs that led to her room and she smiled.

For Anna, the United States was her new home. It possessed excitement and was chock-full of endless possibilities. For Elsa, the country was nothing more than the place that she was stuck in. It was a small blip on her radar until she had completed her senior year and could return home to Arendelle.

* * *

><p><strong>AN- Hi, welcome to my new story. I hope I can do it justice. I would like to point out that I am neither Norwegian, or American. Instead I'm a born and bred Australian with no knowledge of moving to a foreign country. So there will be a lot of research put in, as well as talking with friends who have knowledge of Norway, learning English, Deaf/ hearing impaired issues, Pennsylvania state, USA and what it's like to migrate to the USA.**

**Kjøttkaker**

**Minced beef rolled into balls and then fried. Served with gravy, mushy peas and boiled potatoes.**


	2. Chapter 2

Jack glanced warily around the busy halls of Burgess High School. He'd not seen them yet, but that didn't mean that they weren't around. He'd only been attending the school for three short months, but he had already picked up their pattern. Taking a deep breath, he picked up the pace and continued on his way towards his homeroom. He clung to the walls in an attempt to blend in and remain unnoticed by his fellow students.

He had almost made it to his destination when they struck. A firm hand gripped at his arm and roughly spun him around. His eyes widened as he gazed upon his assailant, a boy known only as Tyler. He felt his back coming in contact with the wall as Tyler and three other boys encroached on his space.

He watched as his bully's eyes lingered on his messenger bag and he opened his mouth to say something. From the wide grin on his friends' faces, Jack could tell that Tyler was saying something amusing. He felt his heart rate speed up as Tyler's hand shot out to snatch at the Harry Potter buttons that he had pinned to his bag. With the treasured souvenirs in hand, Tyler turned to show his friends before shoving them in his own pocket.

Raising his head, Tyler fixed his cold eyes on him and smirked. He watched as Tyler reached out to give him one final shove before turning and walking away. No words had needed to be said. The message had been loud and clear. "Tell no one."

He smoothed down his t-shirt and turned to watch as Tyler and his friends disappeared into the distance. Taking a deep breath, he continued on his way. He kept his head down and ignored the stares of the students who had witnessed the incident and had done nothing.

He was used to being ignored at this school. Not only was he the new student who had been unfortunate enough to transfer to the school at the end of year eleven, but he was also the only Deaf student in the whole school and that made him different. Even if he wasn't Deaf, he would have still struggled to fit in. Most of his classmates had been attending the school for years and friendship groups had already been formed. The fact that he was Profoundly Deaf just added to his difficulties in fitting in. For the majority of students, learning sign or communicating via handwritten messages, or a translator was too much trouble. As a result, he remained left alone and

School hadn't always been so lonely for him. Until recently, he had attended a small school for the Deaf where he had found himself amongst peers. Lessons were taught by teachers with experience in American Sign Language and the school had been tailored to meet the needs of the students. He had enjoyed an active social life at his previous school with a select group of friends who had cared for him and had accepted him for who he was.

However, all that had changed when his father had decided to leave his wife and two children. With the loss of his father's income, his mother had been forced to sell the family home and move with Jack and his sister to a smaller, rented house. Sadly, the cost of sending him to his specialist school had proven too much for his mother on the income she earned from waitressing and she had been forced to enrol him in the local high school.

Shaking his head, he pushed the painful thoughts from his mind and focused on opening his locker. Spinning the dial, he unlocked the door and placed his bag inside. He glanced at the timetable that he had taped inside the door and grabbed the books that he needed for his morning lessons. He slammed the door shut and let out a sigh before making his way into his homeroom.

His homeroom was abuzz with energy as students rushed to their desks, or sat in conversation with their friends. His eyes fell on his interpreter, Hans, standing next to his homeroom teacher with a coffee in hand. Grinning, he walked up to the auburn-haired male and waited patiently for him to place his coffee down.

"How are you?" Hans signed, making sure to speak the words as well.

He frowned. "Not bad," he signed "For a Monday, I mean."

He watched as Hans broke into a wide smile and his body shook. "Funny," Hans signed. "At least once we get through Monday it is only four more days until the weekend."

Nodding, he gave Hans a small wave and headed to his assigned seat up the front of the class. He placed his books on the desk and slid into the seat. Raising his head, he glanced at Hans and watched as he turned to continue the conversation that he had been having with the homeroom teacher.

When the school had told him that he would be assigned an interpreter, he had been worried. His mind had immediately imagined a boring and humourless old man. To his relief, they had set him up with Hans, who was a recent graduate and in his mid 20's.

He had taken an instant liking to the man. In the three months that they had been working together, he had found him to be friendly and caring with a good sense of humour. It was Hans' job to accompany him to all classes and school events and to translate what was being said.

He let out a yawn and turned to watch as his homeroom teacher stood to his feet. Glancing at the clock, he noted that it was the official start of the school day. Quickly, he joined his classmates in standing up. He watched as Hans stepped into position beside his teacher to lead the class in the Pledge of Allegiance.

* * *

><p>Biting her lip, Elsa followed the bored looking teenaged girl as she led her along the busy halls of Burgess High. All around her students moved in groups towards their homeroom. Their happy voices carried down the long hallway as they talked amongst themselves.<p>

After arriving at the school's front office, the principal had called down a student from her and Anna's respective homerooms and had introduced them to their new classmates before sending them on their way.

Anna had rushed off happily, with barely a parting glance in her direction. She had been assigned a girl with unusually long blonde hair and a purple dress. The girl had cheerily stuck out her hand and had introduced herself as Rachel to both sister's before she had latched onto Anna's elbow and had begun to pull her in the direction of their homeroom.

Her own classmate had not been as friendly or welcoming. She had barely grunted her greeting and had not even bothered to give Elsa eye contact before she had beckoned for her to follow.

"Your locker is here. The homeroom is right over there. I'll leave you to figure it out," the girl mumbled, not even bothering to wait for a response before leaving.

She nodded. Looking down, she glimpsed at her locker combination and turned the dial to unlock it. Hastily, she pulled open the locker and slid her bag in. She carefully pulled out her new folders and placed them on the shelf before pausing to study her schedule. She pulled out the folders that she needed for her first few classes and shut the door, taking care to ensure that she had locked it correctly.

Taking a deep breath, she mentally composed herself. Slowly, she walked into her homeroom. She could feel her anxiety rising as the eyes of the class fell on her and gulped. Biting her lip, she willed herself forward. Her eyes fell on a brunette woman sitting at the teacher's desk. Crossing the divide, she handed the note from the front office to the woman.

"Oh, you are the Norwegian girl?" the woman asked, taking care to speak slowly and clearly.

She nodded. She could feel a slight blush appearing on her cheeks as the classroom fell silent around her. "Elsa," she whispered.

The woman smiled and extended her hand for her to shake. "Hi, Elsa. My name is Mrs Oliver and I'm your homeroom teacher," she stated, smiling kindly. "It is lovely to meet you. Welcome to Burgess and to the USA. If you ever need any help then please come and find me."

"Thank you," she replied softly.

She offered the woman a polite smile and turned to face the room. Her new classmates continued to stare at her, making her feel like she was an exhibit at a museum. Blushing, she lowered her head and made her way towards an empty seat in the middle of the room. To her relief, the students dropped their gaze and resumed their conversation. Slowly, she placed her books on the desk and lowered herself into her seat. Pulling out her diary, she studied her schedule.

"You can't sit there," a bored voice said.

Raising her head, she found herself face to face with a tall girl. Her shiny black hair had been pulled into a high ponytail. She gulped as she noticed the scowl on the girl's face.

"Unnskyld," she murmured, blushing as she realised that she had automatically reverted back to her native Norwegian. "I mean sorry."

She heard the girl let out a loud snicker and her blush deepened. Hastily, she bundled her books up and rose from the seat. To her dismay, the girl made no attempt to move out of her way. Instead, she was forced to accidentally brush shoulders with the girl as she passed her. Her eyes fell on an empty seat at the front of the room and she took it. She exhaled and placed her books on the new desk. Behind her, she heard the sound of loud laughter and sighed. So much for flying under the radar.

* * *

><p>Jack watched as his history teacher called out names and assigned students to a group for a new project. Beside him, Hans stood translating the words that the teacher was saying. Nervously, he ran a hand over the back of his neck. He could feel his heart pounding as his name was announced along with the three other students that would make up his group.<p>

Slowly, the students rose from their desks and joined their newly-assigned groups. Biting his lip, he picked up his book. His eyes fell on Hans, who gave him a cheery smile before moving towards the desk. He lowered his books onto the table and took his seat. He glanced at the other members of the group and noticed the way they looked between him and Hans before turning to roll their eyes. He could feel his smile faltering. It was always the same when he was forced to work as part of a group- he would try and be friendly, only to be reminded that he was nothing but a burden.

His eyes flicked to a brunette girl, named Vanessa, who had turned to face Hans. Her head jerked back to stare at him before she turned back to Hans. Frowning, he watched as Hans spoke to Vanessa while signing for his benefit.

"Don't worry. Jack has paper and pen. You can write a message and Jack will respond. You can also speak directly to me and I will translate for you. Just make sure that if you choose to have me translate that you give your eye contact to Jack. That is the most important rule because it is Jack who you are talking with. I'm just the messenger," Hans explained, smiling kindly.

Grinning, he opened his folder to pull out his Harry Potter notepaper and his pen. He placed the paper in the middle of the table and tapped on it before leaning back in his chair. The rest of the students glanced at him before a boy that he'd seen hanging around Tyler, leaned in to snatch a piece of paper from the pad. His eyes widened as he watched the boy bend his head down to scribble a note before he folded it and tossed it to him.

He could feel his heart-beating as he took the paper and unfolded it. His eyes skimmed over the scrawled message and he gulped.'_You better not screw this up for us, freak.'_

Swallowing the lump in his throat, he scrunched the note into a ball and popped it into his pencil case. Raising his head, his eyes met Hans' gaze and he noticed the frown that had appeared on his face. "What's wrong?" Hans signed, not bothering to speak the words. "What was on the note?"

His eyes glanced at the boy who had wrote the note, a deep scowl had crossed his face. Forcing a smile, he turned to face Hans. "Nothing," he lied. "He just told me his name."

Hans frowned and shifted his head to look at the boy before turning back to face him. The look on his face said that he didn't believe his answer, but he said nothing. Instead, he leaned back on his chair and directed his attention to translating between the group members as they started their project.

* * *

><p>After working solidly on his history project, Jack had felt his watch vibrate as it alerted him to the end of the school day. He had sighed and had been quick to pack his books up while the teacher had dismissed the class. He had let out a deep sigh of relief as he had left the class and had walked back to his locker with Hans.<p>

Slamming the locker shut, he caught sight of Hans leaning casually against the wall. Grinning, he shifted the strap of his bag on his shoulder and turned to face Hans.

"See you tomorrow, Jack," Hans signed. "Another Monday down. The weekend is getting closer- only four more days to go."

Nodding, he lifted his hand and waved farewell to Hans. His eyes turned towards the emptying halls and he grinned. Slowly, he began making his way towards the wide double doors that led to his freedom.

* * *

><p>Elsa frowned. Slowly, she made her way along the halls of her new school. Around her, students rushed about on their way to class. She remained invisible as she tried to find her way in the large school. Her eyes darted between the piece of paper on her schedule and the numbers on the doors as she searched for room 225 where her last class was being held.<p>

She had struggled to make sense of her new school all day. Finding her classes had been the least of her worries. The language difference had proved challenging for her. While she had found that her teacher's spoke clearly and were easy to understand, her classmates were a different story. They spoke in rushed voices and used slang and terminology that she was unfamiliar with. Any hopes of a fellow student showing her the slightest bit of kindness had been dashed as the day had worn on. Most of them had shown her little more than a curious glance before they had carried on their way.

Glancing up, her eyes settled on the classroom that she had been looking for. Taking a deep breath, she opened the door and let herself in. Her eyes skimmed the room and she frowned as she noticed that she was sharing the class with the girl from her homeroom. She had been forced to endure two other classes with the girl and had soon discovered that her innocent mistake of sitting in the wrong seat had landed her firmly in the girl's bad books. Sighing, she moved towards a seat in the front of the room.

"Look at her hair," the girl hissed, snorting loudly as she moved to stand in front of Elsa's desk. "It's like some kind of freakish colour."

"It's blonde," Elsa replied, fidgeting with her ring. "Platinum-blonde and it's natural."

The girl leaned in closer and fixed her gaze on her. "I don't care. It's weird, like you."

She leaned back in her chair and lowered her eyes, hoping that the girl would give up and leave her alone. She didn't want to be made a spectacle of, or to be on anyones hit list. She simply wanted to fade into obscurity and make it through the year in one piece.

"Violet, get to your seat," ordered a man as he took his place at the front of the room.

She gulped as the girl, Violet, shot her one last glare before turning and storming over to her desk. Breathing out a sigh of relief, she fixed her attention on the teacher as he pulled out a piece of paper and called the roll.

* * *

><p>To Elsa's relief, her last lesson had passed quickly and without further incidents. After the roll call had been taken, the teacher had made his way over to her. He had introduced himself and had handed her a copy of the novel that the class had been studying. He had also marked the page where the class had read up to so that she could catch up.<p>

Finally, the bell had rung and the class had been dismissed. She had been quick to gather her books up and had scurried out the door towards her locker.

Flinging open her locker, she placed her books on the shelf and pulled out the ones that she needed for homework. She neatly packed her books in her backpack before slamming the door shut and locking it. Her eyes glanced around and she was relieved to notice that the nasty girl, Violet, was nowhere to be seen. Slinging her bag on her shoulders, she turned and headed for the front of the school where she had agreed to meet Anna.

* * *

><p><strong>AN- So here we have Jack, and learn a bit about him. As the chapters go on we will learn a bit more about his life. As a student in a mainstream public school he is teamed up with a translator whose job it is to translate for him. **

**The vibrating watch I mentioned is an actual product. I researched a brand called 'vibraLite' vibrating watches in which you can program up to 12 alarms. The watch will then vibrate on the wearers wrist. In this story I will have Jack wear one with the alarm set to go off at the same time as the school bell for start/ end of the school day, as well as marking the beginning/ end of his lunch period. The watches look like any other watch you would see. If you google 'vibrating watches/ deaf' you can see links of a variety of watches which come in many styles and colours from a sports watch appearance to a dress watch.**

**Unnskyld= Sorry **


	3. Chapter 3

Taking a deep breath, Elsa crossed the road. Slowly, she walked towards Burgess High. A sense of dread filled her as the large building got closer. She stole a glance at Anna, who was humming a cheery tune and was clearly excited for the new school week. She couldn't help feeling a small sense of relief that her sister was happy in their new school.

Her and Anna had been attending their new American high school for four weeks and their experiences at the school had been completely different.

Anna had quickly come to love their new school. Rachel, the girl who had been sent to show her around on her first day, had invited her to join her and her friends at lunch. The two girls had since become good friends and had already caught up out of school hours. Anna's peers were seemingly fascinated with their new foreign-born classmate. Each night, Anna would return home and share stories about the kids in her classes and how they would rush to her, eager to practise the Norwegian phrases which she had taught them.

Elsa, on the other-hand, was struggling in her new environment. Her honest mistake in choosing the wrong seat in homeroom on her first day had only served to cement her as an outcast. Violet, it seemed, held a great deal of influence over their fellow students. As a result, she had continued to remain ignored and invisible to her classmates. The only time when she was shown any attention was when Violet and her clique decided to grace her with their presence- then she was forced to listen to cruel insults where everything from her accent, to her appearance were cruelly mocked.

"If you are worried about school, don't be," Anna said, breaking the silence as she leaned over to nudge her shoulder. "You'll be fine, Elsa. You just need to give the kids in your class a chance to see how awesome you are."

Frowning, she turned to face her sister. "Easy for you to say," she muttered. "Everyone loves you. I'm just the weird girl with the freaky hair colour, pale skin and the weird accent."

She watched as Anna let out a chuckle. A wide grin appeared on her face as she moved to drape her arm around Elsa's shoulder. "Um, Elsa," she began, raising an eyebrow. "I hate to point it out, but we have the exact same accent. The hair is different, appearance as well, but the accent- well that's the same."

She shook her head. "No, Anna. Apparently we don't. Your accent is cute, according to your classmates. My accent only makes me even more of a freak," she protested, stepping out from under Anna's grasp. "Not to mention the fact that I still make mistakes with a few of my words. The slang is really hard for me."

A small frown appeared on Anna's freckled face as she considered her response. Her sister opened her mouth to speak, but was cut off by the sound of her name being called. Sighing, she turned her head and watched as one of Anna's new friends came bounding down the path at an alarmingly fast speed. Stepping out the way, she managed to avoid a collision and watched as the girl flung her arms around Anna's shoulders. The two younger girls let out an excitable shriek as they hugged. Sighing, she tapped her sister on her shoulder. "I'll see you later," she said before turning to leave.

She could hear Anna calling out for her, but she ignored her and kept walking. It wasn't fair to Anna to burden her with her troubles. Anna was the one who had to spend the next three years at the school. Therefore, it made more sense that she was the one who was happy to be there. As the eldest, she would just have to make a better effort at appearing more positive about her experiences in front of Anna.

* * *

><p>Carefully, Elsa packed her bag into her locker. All around her, people were shrieking and holding loud conversations as they caught up with friends. A small yawn escaped her mouth as she pulled out the books that she needed for her next few lessons. Clutching the books to her chest, she shut her locker and made her way into her homeroom.<p>

Her eyes fell on the teacher's desk and she noticed that her normally punctual homeroom teacher was late. Keeping her head down, she made her way to her desk and placed her belongings on it before sliding into her seat.

"Hey, vampire," sneered an amused voice. "Did you have a good weekend?"

Rolling her eyes, she turned to look at Violet as she approached her desk. She could feel her breath hitch as she approached, flanked by three of her friends. Within seconds the four girls had surrounded her desk, blocking all hope of escape. Their laughter rang across the room as they congratulated their leader on her insult. She paused, momentarily and considered throwing some sass back at Violet, but thought better of it. Instead, she just shrugged and directed her attention to her books.

"Don't you know that it's rude to ignore people?" Violet hissed as she stepped closer. "Or don't they teach you manners in No-way?"

"It's Norway," she replied, not bothering to look up.

Violet snorted. "Like I care. Do you like my new name for you? Vampire- because you are pale and freaky," she teased.

She sighed and rolled her eyes. "I can tell that you have put a lot of thought into it," she replied, sarcastically. "You must be proud."

She heard one of Violet's friends draw in a gasp before letting out a small giggle. The classroom fell silent as the other students focused their attention on her and her tormentors.

"Don't you dare try and sass me, girl. I can make your life a living hell," Violet snapped as her hands reached out to fling the books off the desk. "Did you catch all of that, or am I speaking too fast for you, freak?"

She heard the sound of loud laughter escaping from Violet and her friends as they repeated the names that they had called her. With the show over, the rest of the class resumed their conversations. She watched as Violet and her accomplices settled back in their seats, their harsh glares fixed on her. Taking a deep breath, she slid off her seat and bent down to retrieve her books. Her classmates eyes were trained on her, but she ignored them. She wasn't going to give them the benefit of seeing that she had been rattled. Instead, she was going to continue to do her best to ignore them. She didn't care what they thought, she only had to make it through the school year before she could return home to Arendelle.

* * *

><p>Jack slumped in his seat. He could feel the ache in his shoulder, but he ignored it. He couldn't let it be known that he was hurting. To show his pain would risk questions being asked. The last thing he needed to do was draw attention to the pain that he was feeling.<p>

He let out a sigh. He'd not even made it into the school when Tyler and his gang had struck. Instead, he had been outside and had been walking up the path from the car park towards the main entrance. They had attacked from behind and had grabbed him and shoved him roughly against the wall of the school. Their attack had been quick, they had simply wanted to remind him of their ability to strike fear in him. Once they had seen the panic in his eyes, they had left. As a parting gift they had tossed screwed up pieces of paper at his feet.

He felt a light tap on his shoulder. Raising his head, he found himself staring into Hans' face. "Hey," Hans signed, furrowing his brows. "Are you okay? You didn't say hello when you came in."

Frowning, he nodded. Out of the corner of his eyes, he spotted one of Tyler's friends watching with interest. "I'm fine," he replied, offering a bleak smile. "I am just really, really tired. I would rather be at home sleeping."

He watched as Hans bit his lip. He could sense that he wanted to say more, but he didn't. Instead, he returned the smile. "You and me both, Jack," he replied.

He nodded. He watched as Hans gave him one last smile before heading to the front of the room to chat with the homeroom teacher. Digging in his pocket, he pulled out the pieces of paper that Tyler and his friends had thrown at him. Their handwriting and spelling was messy, but their message was clear. Jack was a freak who would never amount to anything and it was their opinion that he should do them all a favour and quit school.

He felt his watch vibrate as the alarm that he had set to coincide with the school bell went off, alerting him that school had started. Scrunching up the papers, he shoved them back into his pocket and looked up. He could feel Hans' eyes watching him, but shrugged it off. He knew that Hans was worried about him. There had been a few times when he had been pulled aside so that Hans could ask him if he needed someone to talk to. Each time he had asked, Jack had brushed it off and had reassured him that he was fine. He had lied every single time.

A tap on his shoulder broke him from his thoughts. "Are you sure that everything is okay?" Hans asked. "What was on the pieces of paper?"

He gulped. His eyes darted to the side while he tried to come up with an excuse that would satisfy Hans' curiosity without getting him in more trouble with his tormentors. To his relief, the teacher stepped in and called them to stand for the pledge. He watched as Hans frowned slightly before stepping back to translate.

Getting to his feet, he faced the flag and signed the pledge. Once that was over, he sat down in his seat and watched as Hans translated the morning bulletin. To his relief, there wasn't much in the way of news to get through. As the last bit of information was read out, he stood to his feet and gathered his books. Clutching the books under one arm, he made his way to the front of the room to meet Hans.

Together, they walked through the halls of the school until they reached the doorway of their first classroom. He felt himself being shoved against the doorframe and turned to watch as one of his bullies brushed past him, stopping long enough to smirk at him before he hurried to his seat.

Shaking his head, he headed to his desk and slid into his seat. He felt a tap on his hand and looked up. "You know, if you are having trouble with something, or someone, you can talk to me? I would be happy to go with you to tell someone." Hans sighed.

He nodded. "I'm fine, Hans," he replied. "Really."

He watched as Hans furrowed his brows. Hastily, he diverted his gaze, shutting down communication so that Hans couldn't press the issue. He knew that Hans didn't believe his answer, he had witnessed the minor attack, but he couldn't force an answer out of him. After all, he wasn't the one who had to face Tyler and his gang.

* * *

><p>Elsa scanned the cafeteria for a place to sit. She could feel her anxiety rising as she glanced over the room. For most students, lunch break was the highlight of their school day. It was their time for catching up with friends and sharing jokes without the teachers keeping watch. However, for her it was hell. It was yet another period where she was forced to sit alone, like an outcast. It's only purpose, it seemed, was to remind her of the loneliness she felt.<p>

Her eyes skimmed over the crowded room as she weighed up her options. All around her friends sat in groups and chatted happily. She could see a few empty seats at random tables, but she liked to avoid those seats. In the first few weeks she had taken one of those spots and it hadn't gone well. The other occupants at the table would look at her before moving their chairs and huddling even closer to each other. Regardless of where she sat, the other students would always look at her as an unwelcome intruder with nothing better to do than eavesdrop on their conversations.

Letting out a sigh, she stepped forward. The eyes of the student population fell on her as they waited to see whose table she would choose to impose on.

Out of the corner of her eyes, she spied Anna waving at her. She fixed a warm smile on her face and returned the wave. She watched as Anna lowered her head to talk to her friends and gulped. She knew what Anna was planning. Her sister had noticed that she sat alone in the cafeteria and had offered her to join her at her table. She had politely declined the offer. Sitting with Anna would only risk embarrassing her, or drawing more cruel taunts. She could only imagine the way Violet would respond if she saw her sitting with her younger sister and her friends. Not to mention that it could possibly lead Violet to Anna and risk her sweet sister being tormented as well.

Her eyes fell on Anna as she pushed her chair back and stood up. Taking a deep breath, she made her move. Hastily, she wove through the tables and strode out the wide doors that led to the yard.

* * *

><p>A few long strides across the grounds was all that had been needed for Elsa to find a place to sit. After fleeing the cafeteria, she had come to rest underneath a large tree on the edge of the school grounds. The spot was nestled amongst a few trees and allowed her to remain hidden from the majority of students while still being on school grounds.<p>

She had lowered herself down and had pulled out her packed lunch and her favourite Harry Potter book. She had flicked open the pages of the book and had let her mind travel to a distant place while she'd read about Harry and his friends dealing with the threat of an escaped prisoner.

The serenity that came from the hidden location was a welcome relief. The mild autumn breeze was blowing the leaves around her and helping her to feel relaxed. She found herself becoming lost in the story and would have continued to do so, if it wasn't for the sound of leaves crunching around her as someone approached.

Gulping, she slipped her bookmark between the pages of her book and closed it. Her eyes settled on the intruder. He was a slim boy with tousled silver-white hair and was dressed in black jeans with a blue hoodie. If she were to guess, she would put him at around her age. Although, she didn't recognise him from any of her classes. Biting her lip, she watched as he continued to stare at her. A lopsided grin crossed his face before he reached a thin arm out and pointed at her book.

"Harry Potter," he said, giving her a thumbs up.

She panicked. She watched as the boy's grin disappeared and he looked around for something, or someone. His arms dug into the pocket of his hoodie and she assumed that he was digging around for his phone. He was currently alone, but she couldn't help fearing that he was another one of Violet's acquaintances- sent out to corner her before alerting her bully to her location.

Standing to her feet, she grabbed her book and her empty food wrappers and bundled them under her arms. "Leave me alone, please," she begged before turning to flee.

* * *

><p>Jack could feel the panic rising as he looked around the busy cafeteria. His eyes scanned the room until they settled on Tyler and his friends. His bullies had gathered at their usual table along with Tyler's girlfriend, Violet, and her equally nasty friends.<p>

Taking a deep breath, he looked for an escape. His eyes fell on the doors that led to the yard and he breathed a sigh of relief. The pleasant weather outside had made it possible for him to flee to safety. With one last glance at Tyler, he made his move. He scurried through the tables of the cafeteria until he had stepped outdoors. Once outside, he paused to exhale. Glancing over his shoulder, he felt his heart rate slowing down as he realised that he had managed to get out without his bully seeing him.

He raced through the grounds with purpose, until he reached his favourite hiding spot. A large tree that was nestled among other trees on the edge of the school grounds. He had discovered the tree by accident a few weeks earlier and it had quickly become his safe haven. It was a place that he could go to rest in peace without the fear of being discovered by Tyler and his gang.

Slowing down to a halt, he could feel his eyes widening. Sitting in his hiding spot was a girl. Her back was curled up against the tree. He couldn't help noticing that the girl was undeniably beautiful with a slender frame, pale skin and platinum-blonde hair. However, it was the book that she was reading that really caught his attention.

Furrowing his brows, he leaned in for a closer look at the title: Harry Potter og fangen fra Azkaban. The cover art, series name and Azkaban gave it away as being Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, his personal favourite book in the series. The language, however, was foreign to him.

"Harry Potter," he said, grinning widely.

He watched as the girl raised her head to look at him. Hastily, she jumped to her feet before looking around for something, or someone.

He gulped. He could feel the panic start to return as the girl continued to look around. His Harry Potter obsession was well known amongst his classmates. They didn't even have to communicate with him to know that he was a proud Potterhead. His folders were all decorated with Harry Potter book labels and stickers and he could often be found wearing his favourite Slytherin t-shirt. It was entirely possible that Tyler had discovered his safe place and had convinced the girl to go out and use his own interests to lure him into a trap.

To make matters worse, he had actually spoken out loud to the girl. He had used his speaking voice in front of her and had broken his own rule of not speaking in front of people until he was comfortable with them.

He knew that many people at his school assumed him to be a mute. However they were wrong. He was capable of speaking. He simply chose not to speak in public due to the reaction that his spoken voice tended to get from strangers.

His mother had explained to him as a child that his voice sounded different to those of hearing people. She had said that it was a side effect of being born Deaf. In order for him to vary the tone and pitch of his voice, he would have to be able to hear it. As a result, he had made the decision to refrain from speaking around people until he trusted them enough to not ridicule him. However, now he had screwed up and had spoken in front of a complete stranger.

Shaking his head, he watched as the girl clutched her belongings to her chest. Her mouth was moving as she spoke to someone. Glancing around, he couldn't see anyone, but it was possible that they were hiding behind the other trees that lined the area. Digging in his pocket, he pulled out his notepad and a pen. Hastily, he scribbled down a message for the girl. He could feel his heart pounding as he reached out to grasp the girl's hand.

* * *

><p><strong>AN- So, here we have our duo meet each other. **

**I'd like to thank Zulka for providing some valuable insight into Deaf/ Hard of hearing, ASL and services in the USA. As whilst this is an entirely fictional story for enjoyment I am striving to show respect to the Deaf community, and to me that means trying to keep it accurate, maybe bring a small bit of understanding. **


	4. Chapter 4

Elsa gasped. She could feel the panic rising as the strange boy's hand gripped her own. Preparing herself for the worst, she turned to face him. Her eyes searched behind him for the bullies that were likely hiding behind the trees and ready to strike.

Instead, she found no one. The boy pressed a piece of paper to her hand before dropping his grip and taking a step back. Looking down, she saw the small folded piece of paper that had dropped to her feet. Bending down, she retrieved the paper from the ground. She glanced at the boy and saw that he was watching her with interest as his eyes flicked between her own eyes and the paper in her hand. Gulping, she unfolded the paper to reveal a scribbled message.

'_Please don't hurt me.' _

Cocking her head, she looked at the boy. He stood in front of her, his blue eyes fixed on her and trembled slightly. She was unsure why he thought that she would hurt him. Especially, since she was wary that he had been sent to lure her into a trap. Opening her mouth, she went to speak, but was cut off by the boy who stepped forward to tap at the paper.

Looking down, she noticed that there was a bit more writing that she had missed. '_I can't help that I was born Deaf.'_

She turned to examine the boy. Her eyes fell on a small badge that was pinned to his hoodie which she had missed at first glance. The badge announced him to be Deaf and stated that he relied on written communication or sign language. She could feel her cheeks reddening as she recalled the way she had first spoken to him. At the time, she thought he had heard her and had chosen to ignore her plea. It had never occurred to her that he couldn't actually hear what she had said. Glancing at the paper, she mimicked the action of writing and looked at him in the hopes that he would understand.

The boy nodded. Reaching into his pocket, he pulled out a pen and notepad and handed it to her.

'_I won't hurt you. I'm sorry that you thought that I would. I actually thought that you had been sent out here to hurt me,' _she wrote, handing the paper back to the boy.

A lopsided smile appeared on the boy's face as he read the note. Meeting her gaze, he shook his head and pointed towards the tree, beckoning her to sit.

She nodded and lowered herself to rest against the tree. The boy lowered himself to sit beside her. She waited patiently while he bent his head down and scribbled another note.

'_I thought you were sent by the bullies to lure me out,' _he wrote. '_I come here to get away from them. People pick on me because I am profoundly Deaf. My interpreter doesn't spend lunch time with me and so it's easier for the bullies to get to me.'_

Shaking her head, she reached over to take the paper and pen from him and scribbled down her reply. '_No. I came here to escape my bullies. I moved here from Norway a few weeks ago. I can read and write English and can speak it, but I am not real confident. I make a few mistakes and people laugh, or they speak too fast on purpose and I struggle to keep up. I'm sorry. I really thought that you had been sent out here to get me by Violet and her gang.'_

His eyes skimmed over the message. Looking up, he faced her and shook his head. Taking the paper and pen, he wrote his response. '_Violet O'Toole in year 12? She's nasty. Her boyfriend, Tyler, and his friends are the worst to me. They are who I am hiding from. I can talk, as you noticed. I just don't like to talk here because people will laugh at my accent. I was so scared that you were going to laugh at me. I just got too excited when I saw the Harry Potter book- they are my favourite series ever.'_

She gave him a shy smile. Picking up the book, she handed it to the boy. His eyes lit up with enthusiasm as he eagerly thumbed through it. Once he'd flicked through it, he handed it back to her and grabbed his pen and paper.

'_Norwegian version?' _he wrote. '_Book three is my favourite book in the series. I love Sirius Black.'_

She nodded. Taking the pen and paper from him, she scribbled down her response. '_Yep, it's the Norwegian version. My name is Elsa, by the way. I know that boy, Tyler. He is in one of my classes with Violet. To be honest, I hardly noticed your accent. I was too worried that Violet and her friends were going to step out and tease me. Also, I agree- The Prisoner of Azkaban is my favourite book and movie in the series. I love the part when Harry finds out the truth about Sirius. Are you in grade 12 as well?'_

The boy nodded and took the paper and pen from her to write his reply. '_Yes, I'm in year 12. My name is Jack, by the way. I only started coming to this school a few months ago. My dad left us and Mum couldn't afford to continue sending me to my old school, so she sent me here. My last school was better- it was for hearing and speech impaired people. No one teased me there and I had good friends. Here, all I have is Hans, my interpreter. Everyone treats me differently. No one wants to know me- it is too much of a hassle for them to bother learning sign language for one student and one year of school. They can't even be bothered to write notes.'_

Pursing her lips, she looked at him. She found herself understanding his situation. She may not know what it was like to be Deaf, but she certainly knew what it was like to be bullied and ignored at their school. Even their bullies were connected, it seemed. Still, she couldn't believe that people could be so ignorant to not even try and communicate with him. She had spent only a few minutes with him and already found him to be interesting and he shared a common interest with her which was a bonus.

Taking the paper and pen, she scrawled her response. '_I want to know you. You can always come talk to me at lunch. I don't have any friends that I sit with. Also, I don't mind writing notes. I mean, we're still talking.'_

Biting her lip, she passed the note to Jack. She could feel herself blushing slightly while he paused to read it. Turning to face her, he smiled before bending down to respond. He had just put the pen to paper when the school bell rang and his watch started beeping. Instead, his face fell and he dropped the pen to fumble with his watch.

Standing to her feet, she waited patiently for Jack to stand up. Together, they walked towards the school cafeteria doors. They had just reached the doors when she felt him grip her arm. She spun on her heels to face him. Holding his hand up, he indicated for her to wait before pulling out his pen and paper to scribble down one last note.

'_I'd like to spend lunch with you. Meet you at the tree again tomorrow?'_ he wrote.

She blushed and nodded at him. She watched as his smile pulled into a lopsided grin and he gave her a thumbs up before turning and heading through the doors.

* * *

><p>Jack couldn't help the slight spring in his step as he raced through the door of his family home, narrowly beating his younger sister. He turned to watch as she removed her backpack, dumping it in the space by the front door.<p>

"No fair, Jack. Your legs are longer than mine," she signed, panting as she struggled to catch her breath.

"I gave you a head start!" he teased, wagging his finger at her. "You could have easily beaten me if you hadn't let yourself get distracted by the neighbour's cat."

The young girl pouted and brushed past him as she headed for the kitchen. Shrugging, he followed her into the kitchen. He held open the fridge while she leaned in to grab two cans of drink. Passing one to him, she backed up and placed her own can on the counter.

"You know, if you were a nice older brother you would have let me win. I'm just a kid, Jack," she signed, placing her hands on her hips

Laughing, he pushed a hand through his hair before he looked at her. "You are nine. You will get over it," he replied, poking his tongue out. "Besides, I plan on kicking your ass again tomorrow."

He felt a hand clamping down on his shoulder. Turning around, he found himself face to face with his mother. He watched as she broke into a wide smile as she shifted her attention between him and his sister. "Jackson, Emily, she signed, while speaking the words for his sister's benefit. "How was your day at school?"

Leaning back, he watched as his sister spoke animatedly with their mother. Her hands moved quickly as she signed the words so that he could understand. It seemed the highlight of her day was the fact that one of her classmates had broken his arm falling off the jungle gym and had come to class with a neon green cast, which she had been allowed to sign.

He couldn't help smiling at his sister's enthusiasm. As much as he loved to tease her, he had to admit that as far as siblings went, Emily was basically perfect. In her short life, she'd had to adapt to a lot. She had to live in a home that was different and had to remember to speak and sign while she was with him. She'd been the subject of curious stares from strangers as they watched her holding a conversation with him in public. He also knew that she had been forced to defend him against ignorant people on more than one occasion. As far as siblings went, Emily was as protective of him as he was of her.

"What about you, Jack" his mum asked. "How was your day?"

He grinned. "I think that I made a friend!" he replied. "I went outside at lunch, to escape the cafeteria. I went to the tree that I like and there was a girl. She was reading Harry Potter in a foreign language. I spoke to her, I actually spoke, Mum, I used my voice."

He watched the way his mum's expression changed as he recounted the tale of how he had stumbled upon Elsa. His mother's smile changed to a frown as he told her how he'd feared that Elsa would tease him, only for her to react positively instead.

"Jack," his mum broke in. "You would tell me if you were being bullied, wouldn't you?"

He paused to consider his answer. He knew that his mum worried about him. The transition from his previous school to a mainstream school was always going to be challenging and she'd been concerned with how he would cope. However, he couldn't tell her about the bullying. She had enough on her plate since his dad had left. She was working as hard as she could in order to make ends meet financially. Plus, the stress involved with raising two children, one of whom was profoundly Deaf. She didn't need to worry about him any more than was necessary and it was for that reason that he had been careful to not reveal too much about his school life.

"Of course, I would, Mum," he lied. "Everything is fine. I'm achieving good grades. Hans is nice and Elsa, who I met today is also very nice."

* * *

><p>Elsa stood at the kitchen sink with her hands elbow deep in dishwater while she washed the dishes from dinner. The sound of the TV show that her parents were watching carried through the house. Beside her, Anna twirled around with a tea towel as she listened to the music playing on the small radio.<p>

"So," Anna began, coming to stand beside her. "Where did you disappear too at lunchtime?"

"I went outside to read," she admitted

"Oh. Well, you know that you could have come sat with me and my friends. We don't mind, it would be better than sitting and eating lunch alone," Anna offered, flashing her a warm smile.

"I know and I appreciate that, but I don't mind being on my own," she replied. "Besides, I met a guy today."

She gulped. She watched as Anna's face lit up and she placed the dish that she'd been drying on the counter before she turned to face her. Inwardly, she scolded herself for not choosing her words better. Knowing Anna, she had likely jumped straight into assuming that there was some sort of spark between her and Jack. Her younger sister was prone to romantic whims and tended to view any and every guy as a potential Mr Right.

"A guy?! Really?!" Anna shrieked, leaning in closer. "Do tell."

"No, it wasn't like that, Anna," she protested. "I was sitting by a tree when he came and spoke to me. He commented on my book- said Harry Potter and I kind of freaked out. I thought that he had been sent by Violet and her gang to tease me. I went to leave, but he stopped me and handed me a note asking me to not hurt him-"

"Wait, why would he think that you would hurt him?" Anna interrupted, tilting her head as she examined her. "You're like the kindest person ever."

"Because he is Deaf, as in profoundly Deaf," she explained. "He can speak, but can't hear. He just moved to the school a few months ago. He has an interpreter, but he gets bullied. People don't want to bother to learn sign language, or to use the notepad to communicate with him. They think that it's too much effort for one year of schooling. It's a shame though, we only talked a bit, but he's an interesting guy and has a lot to say. The guy who bullies him is Violet's boyfriend. Anyway, I got talking to him. We wrote notes back and forth and I'm meeting him again tomorrow."

"Is he cute?" Anna asked, furrowing her brow. "Also, I am going to need more details. We're talking: name, age, year level and all that stuff."

"Anna!" she shrieked, blushing slightly. "I only met him today. Yes he is nice. He's in year 12 like me and his name is Jack."

"You missed the most important question, Elsa. Is he cute?" Anna teased, nudging her. "Don't think that I won't drag it out of you somehow."

Sighing, she turned her attention back to the dishes. She could barely contain her smile as she listened to Anna continue to pester her for more details. Her mind was fixed on finding out whether she thought Jack to be cute and it was driving her crazy not knowing.

"Alright, I give up. I won't ask you if you think this Jack guy is cute," Anna said, dejectedly. "Although, I do think that it sounds promising. I mean, it sounds like he has struggled with people who don't bother trying to listen to what he has to say and I know that your confidence issues with English makes you quiet."

She nodded. Reaching her hand down, she pulled the plug and let the water drain out of the sink. "It will be nice to have someone to talk to," she agreed, smiling.

"Yep and I will just have to stalk you to find out whether Jack is cute," Anna teased. "Do you still write in a diary? If so, are you likely to write about Jack in it?"

She let out a loud groan. "I'm going to my room to work on homework now. Goodbye, Anna."

Turning on her heels, she made her way out of the kitchen and up the stairs to her bedroom.

She couldn't help feeling a little bit better having found someone to talk too. After all, both her and Jack had their difficulties in the school. They both felt silenced, like what they had to say was not important to the wider school community. Yet, as she had discovered in only a matter of minutes, Jack had a lot to say and she was only too happy to listen.


	5. Chapter 5

Jack glanced at his watch in anticipation. He was eager for the lesson to end and for the lunch break to begin. In the two weeks since he had met Elsa, the lunch period had become more enjoyable. They had spent every break outside under the tree chatting. Having a friend to talk too had made the days slightly more bearable, even if he didn't share any classes with her.

He let out a sigh and looked up. His eyes fell on Hans, who was deep in conversation with the class teacher. All around him, his fellow classmates were busy working. Sighing, he redirected his attention to the math problem in front of him. He pulled the textbook closer to him as he compared his work with the example given in the textbook, ensuring that he had reached the correct answer.

He had just began working on the final problem when the bell rang. The vibrations on his watch buzzed in time with the programmed alarm and alerted him to the end of the lesson and the start of the lunch period. Grinning, he slammed the book shut and bundled up his books. Shooting out of his desk, he waved at Hans and gave him a wide smile before turning and following the rest of the students out of the room.

He walked briskly towards his locker. Pulling it open, he hastily shoved the books in to rest in a messy heap before pulling out his packed lunch, notepad and pen. He tucked his lunch and pad and paper under his arms before slamming the door shut.

Walking towards the cafeteria, his eyes fell on an increasingly familiar head of platinum-blonde hair a few metres ahead. He picked up his pace and weaved through the crowd of students until he was level with Elsa. Reaching out, he tapped her on the shoulder and watched as her expression changed from being startled, to a welcoming smile as she nodded her greeting. Her own lunch and pen and paper were tucked under her arm. He slowed down his pace to meet her own as they continued their walk.

Entering the cafeteria, he felt his heart sink. The doors to the yard were shut while a heavy downpour of rain fell outside. For the first time since they met each other, they were being forced to remain indoors and in the same room as their bullies. He turned and watched as a small frown crossed Elsa's face and knew that she was thinking the same thing. Her blue eyes darted around while she looked for a place for them to sit.

He felt a tap on the shoulder and turned to watch as Elsa pointed to a table at the farthest end of the cafeteria. Quickly, he scanned the room and let out a small sigh of relief upon noticing that Tyler and his gang were at the opposite end of the cafeteria and deep in conversation.

Hastily, he followed her to the table and took a seat. Spreading out his lunch, he pulled the pad towards him.

'_So, how has your day been so far?' _he asked, shoving the pad towards Elsa.

A small frown crossed her face. She placed her partially eaten sandwich down and pulled the pad towards her as she wrote her response. '_It's been okay. I'm tired though. My sister kept me up last night. She kept blasting her One Direction album all night. I was this close to going in and breaking the damn CD.'_

He chuckled. Taking a sip of water, he grabbed the paper. '_Emily loves One Direction. She plays their CD all the time. I'd probably be more annoyed with them if I could hear. Luckily for me, she doesn't bother to sign their songs.'_

'_Tease,' _Elsa replied, pouting at him. '_Speaking of sisters, don't look now, but here comes mine.'_

Raising his head, his eyes fell on a slender girl as she made her way towards them. Her strawberry-blonde hair was pulled back into a high ponytail. She gave them a wide smile and waved at them. As she approached, she pulled an empty chair from a nearby table and pulled it to sit beside Elsa.

He continued to study her as she grabbed Elsa's notepad and tore off a piece of paper before taking the pen from her sister's hand. Bending her head down, she furiously scribbled a note down. Once she had finished, she leaned past Elsa and handed him the sheet of paper.

'_Hi, I'm Anna. I'm Elsa's awesome younger sister. You're Jack right? She's told me about you. She says that you are funny, sweet, cheeky, the same age as her and lots of other boring stuff. Anyway, for some reason she has been reluctant to introduce you to me. It's probably because she refuses to answer me when I ask her if she thinks you are cute. Also, if you could refrain from showing Elsa this note- that would be good.' _

He laughed. He could feel a faint blush tinting his cheeks as he read Anna's note. His eyes glanced up and he caught Elsa's gaze as she leaned over to try and peek at the note. Pressing the note to his chest, he watched as she shot a pointed glare at him and her sister. Shrugging, he handed the note over to her. He met Anna's gaze and watched as she shook her head.

A deep blush crossed Elsa's face as she read the note. He watched as she screwed up the note and tossed it at her sister before she leaned down to scribble her reply.

'_Anna, I swear to God that you are so dead. Your One Direction CDs are going in the bin as soon as we get home. Jack ignore her,' _she wrote, showing the note to both Anna and Jack.

'_I told you not to tell, Jack!' _Anna wrote, poking her tongue out. '_You are a traitor. Still, at least now we know the answer to the question. I'm pretty sure that she would not react like this if she didn't think that you are cute.'_

He grinned. Leaning back on his chair, he watched as Elsa buried her head in her hands. Slowly, he reached over to pull her hands from her face. Once he'd let go of her hands, he pulled out the paper and pen.

'_Cute, huh?' _he wrote, sliding the paper towards her.

* * *

><p>Elsa could feel the heat rising in her cheeks. Anna's laughter filled her ears as she continued to enjoy the reaction that she'd earned from her older sister. On the opposite side of her, sat Jack. She turned to face him and groaned as he looked at her with a cocky smirk on his face.<p>

Grabbing the paper, she hastily scribbled a note and placed it in front of her so that both Anna and Jack could read. '_Great job, Anna. You're going to pump up his already inflated ego.'_

Beside her, Jack frowned and grabbed the paper. '_That hurts, princess. You've gone from thinking that I'm cute, to suggesting that I have a big ego in a matter of minutes,' _Jack replied, clutching his chest in mock pain.

Groaning, she rolled her eyes and poked her tongue out at him. Her eyes glanced to Anna and she made a mental note to not allow her anywhere near Jack in the near future. Especially if her sister was going to continue to pester her about whether she thought Jack to be cute. She shot Jack a look before bending down to grab her paper and pen.

'_Oh come on, Frost. You know that you've got a big ego. Don't even try and deny it,' _she wrote, shoving the paper towards him.

Out of the corner of her eye, she spotted Anna as she grabbed a sheet of paper and a pen. '_Oh this is good. You two are already acting like an old married couple,' _Anna wrote, chuckling as she handed the paper back.

She watched as Jack furrowed his brow. His pen moved fast as he jotted down his response and tossed it towards her. '_Ego or not, you still think I'm cute,' _he teased.

She let out a sigh and buried her head in her arms. She still didn't know what to make of her and Jack. In the two weeks since she had met him, she'd come to enjoy his company. It was true that she found him to be friendly, intelligent, caring, playful and he definitely had a cheeky sense of humour. Still, she was unsure about whether they were friends or acquaintances. She just knew that she'd started to find school a little more tolerable since she had met him. Having someone to talk with over her lunch break made her feel a little less lonely.

"How cute is this?" sneered an all too familiar voice.

She felt her heart drop. Raising her head, she found herself staring into the eyes of Violet. Blinking, she sat back and watched as the bullying girl moved to place her hands on her hips before glaring at the trio. Her eyes fell on the papers that held their conversation as they lay on the table. Hastily, she reached out and snatched the notes before Violet had a chance to get to them.

"W...what do you you w...want?" she stammered, biting her lip.

"Relax, No-way. I just wanted to come and say hello. I've been wondering where you have been at lunch time. Have you been hiding and slumming it with little kids and the Deaf-boy?" she snorted. "Fitting, they do say that freaks attract freaks."

Gulping, she shifted her head to look at Jack. A small frown had appeared on his face and his hands were crossed as he stared at Violet. She couldn't help feeling a small sense of gratitude that he was at least unaware of the cruel taunts coming from Violet's mouth. She knew that he was unable to read lips, it had been one of her first questions and he had said that he couldn't.

"Hey!" Anna broke in, narrowing her eyes as she glared at Violet. "You can't talk to my sister and Jack like that."

She felt her panic escalating. Biting her lip, she turned to face Anna. Her hand reached out to grip at hers, in the hope that she could silence her. She knew that Anna meant well, but her efforts would only further enrage Violet. She wasn't the one who had to go through classes with Violet, she wasn't the one who would pay for her action at a later time. Besides, Anna also had the benefit of a group of friends who would happily back her up if Violet dared to turn her attention on her.

"Now that is cute," Violet chortled and turned to glare at Elsa. "You have to get your kid sister to defend you. You can't even stand up for yourself. I mean, at least Deaf-boy over here has the excuse that he can't actually hear me, buy you...you are just pathetic. Maybe you should be Deaf as well as him"

She raised her head to glare at Violet. She couldn't believe the cruel words that were coming from her mouth- picking on someone for something that could not be helped. Her eyes glanced at Jack and she gave him a weak smile in the hopes of making him feel better.

"Leave us alone, Violet," she hissed. "Please. We have done nothing to you. At least nothing to deserve this treatment."

She watched as Violet threw her head back and laughed derisively. Once her laughter had subsided, she turned to glare at her. "No, you haven't. It's just that I don't like you. My boyfriend doesn't like Deaf-boy over there," she said, jerking her thumb to point at Jack. "You should never have left Norway, freak. You don't belong here and neither does your stupid friend. He should have stayed at his school with the other stupid people."

She swallowed the lump that had formed in her throat. The tears were threatening to roll down her face. Out of the corner of her eye, she spied Anna glaring at Violet. Pushing herself to her feet, she turned to give Jack a weak smile. She blinked back the tears that had started rolling down her face and fled.

Behind her, she could hear Anna calling her name and begging her to wait, but she ignored her. The stares of students followed her every move as they watched her race through the cafeteria, but she didn't care. She just needed to get out of there.

She reached the halls and picked up the pace. The tears were starting to blur her vision as she made her way in to the closest girls bathroom. She let out a small sigh of relief upon noticing that the room was empty. Her eyes fell on the nearest stall and she entered it, slamming the door shut and locking it behind her. Closing the lid of the toilet, she took a seat and burst into tears.

She felt her phone buzzing in her pocket as a message arrived, followed quickly by another one. Pulling it out, she noticed that one of the messages was from Jack while the other one was from Anna. Both messages were asking if she was okay and wanted to know where she had run off to. She sighed and slid the phone back into her pocket, she'd bother with an answer at a later time.

She couldn't help snorting as the cruel insults that Violet had said repeated themselves in her head. Ironically, the names Violet had used were nothing compared to the names that she was currently calling herself. She couldn't help chiding herself for running from her problem instead of facing it. What was worse was that she had left Jack and Anna back in the cafeteria to face Violet. In all her stupidity, she had left her beloved sister and the only person in the entire school who had shown her any kindness alone with her tormentor. She was weak, a failure of a human.

The sound of the school bell rang, marking the end of the lunch period. Sighing, she got to her feet. She took a minute to sniff back the last of her tears and unlocked the stall. Groggily, she made her way to the sink and bent down to splash some cold water over her face. She stared at her reflection. Her eyes were red and her face was streaked with tears. She looked like a mess.

Shaking her head, she left the bathroom and headed for her locker. The names that she had called herself played in her head. She knew that her time spent sharing her lunch break with Jack had ended. There was no way that he would want to spend any time with her now. Not since she'd proven herself to be nothing but a pathetic crybaby who was incapable of facing up to her bully. No, she was most certainly back to her lonely existence once again.

* * *

><p>Jack frowned. He may not have been able to hear the words that were said, but that didn't mean that he was unaware of what had gone on around him. After all, a lifetime of being Deaf had meant that he had learned to read body language quite well.<p>

He had watched as Elsa had frozen in fear. Looking up, he had seen Violet standing at their table. Elsa had glanced between Violet and the papers that had contained their conversation. Hastily, she had quickly snatched the paper out of the way and had pocketed them before her tormentor could get to them. He had then watched as she had shrunk back in her seat and had tried to put distance between herself and Violet. Still, despite the obvious fear and distress on her face, she had continued to look between him and her younger sister, Anna. It had been obvious to him that her primary concern in the situation had been Anna and him.

Anna, on the other hand, had displayed more confidence. Her face had flushed with anger, making her complexion a similar colour to her hair and she had glared at Violet. She had leaned forward and had stared at the bully. Her gaze had not dropped once as she had spoken with the bully. Her eyes had darted back to him and Elsa only after she had closed her mouth. It had been obvious that whatever Violet had said was not sitting well with the younger girl.

Elsa had glanced briefly at Jack before she had turned to face her sister. Her mouth had opened in horror and she had reached to grip at Anna's hand in a silent attempt to try and silence the bold young girl.

To his dismay, whatever Anna had said had amused Violet. A wide sneer had appeared on her face and she had leaned in to speak to Elsa with her eyes fixed on her. It seemed that Violet's words had done the job and had pushed Elsa to her limit. She had glanced at him and had given him a weak smile before she'd turned to glare at her bully. She had said something in retaliation and he had noticed the way her jaw had clenched with anger.

He had felt his heart sink as he'd watched Violet's reaction. The bully had simply thrown her head back and her body had shook with laughter at Elsa's response. She had leaned forward and had narrowed her eyes as she had stared Elsa down and had spoken to her.

The last comment had been the one that had pushed Elsa too far. She had turned to face him and had blinked back the tears that had appeared in the corner of her eyes. She had shot to her feet and had fled the room, leaving her pen and paper behind her.

He had turned to watch in horror as Violet's face had broken out into a wide smile. She had obviously felt pride in her behaviour. Anna had been quick to shuffle over to take Elsa's spot next to him. She had offered him a small smile. She had then turned to glare at Violet and had waved her hands around animatedly before she had dismissed the older bully.

Breathing a sigh of relief, he watched as Violet stalked back to her table. He turned to Anna and watched as she let out a breath of air. She pulled at the paper and pen and bent her head down to write a note.

'_She's a major bitch. I'm sorry that neither Elsa or I kept you informed. She was saying some really nasty, hateful stuff. I just wished that Elsa would stick up for herself a bit more. Neither you, or her deserve to put up with the shit that she was saying. Are you okay?'_

Nodding, he grabbed his pen and paper. '_Yeah, I could tell. I can't read lips, but I've learnt to pick up on body language quite a bit. I'm fine. I'm just worried for Elsa. I'll send her a text and see if she's okay. She was in tears when she left.'_

Pulling out his phone, he sent a quick text to Elsa. He stole a glance at Anna and noticed that she had decided to follow suit. He checked that his phone was set on vibrate and slipped it back into his pocket. Nervously, he bit his lip. He had no idea what would happen now, whether Anna would go back to her friends. If he was honest, he didn't want her to. It made him feel a little less lonely and a bit more secure having someone with him, but he wouldn't blame her if she chose to return to her normal table.

'_If it's okay with you, I'll stay here for the rest of lunch.' _Anna wrote, sliding the paper so that he could see it.

Grinning, he nodded and gave her a thumbs up.

'_We can play a game if you like- maybe Noughts and Crosses or Hangman?' _she continued. '_I warn you, I'm pretty good. Also, don't worry about Elsa, she will be fine.'_

He blushed and took the piece of paper. '_Sounds good to me. I hope that she's okay, I would hate for her to be upset.' _

* * *

><p>Elsa sighed. Pulling her bag from her locker, she carefully packed her homework into it. As the halls emptied around her, she let out a breath of relief. She couldn't help feeling grateful for the end of a disastrous day.<p>

Luckily for her, her last two classes had been ones without Violet in them. Once the final school bell had sounded, she had taken her time to pack up and depart the class. By the time she returned to her locker, Violet had long been gone.

With her bag packed, she slung it over her shoulders and closed her locker door. Slowly, she walked towards the school's front entrance. Raising her head, she felt her breath hitch as she noticed Anna waiting patiently for her. To her side stood Jack, his blue eyes lit up and a smile graced his face as he looked at her.

Blushing, she waved at the duo. She felt the guilt of leaving them to fend for themselves hit her as she approached. Swinging her bag around to the front, she reached for her pad and a pen and pulled them out.

'_I'm so sorry about lunch time. Are you okay?' _she wrote, showing the paper to Jack.

Jack nodded. Taking the paper and pen from her, he bent down and scribbled a response. '_I'm fine. I was just worried for you. Violet left not long after you did. She's such a bitch. Luckily, Anna stayed to hang out with me for the last few minutes of lunch.'_

She shot a smile at her sister. At least her sister had stayed behind to keep Jack company. She had found herself plagued with worry that Violet had continued to torment him, or had called for backup and he'd been hurt. She felt a tap on her shoulder and turned to face Jack as he handed her a piece of paper.

'_The rain won't give up. Anna said that you guys are meant to be walking home. Stay here with me. I'm just waiting for Mum to arrive, she's picking up my sister from school first. We will give you a lift home,' _he said.

"I've already said that we will accept the lift. Mum can't get us because she's caught up waiting for an appointment," Anna said, carefully balancing the notepad on her bag as she scribbled down what she'd said for Jack to read.

She nodded. Shuffling on her feet, she watched Jack pull his phone out. He shot them a wide grin and grabbed the paper and pen. '_Mum is just out the front. Follow me,' _he wrote, handing the pen and paper back to her.

She shoved the pen and paper back in her bag and shoved it back on her shoulder. Together, the trio made their way outside into the rain. They broke into a light jog as Jack lead them towards a grey station wagon that was parked out the front of the school. She watched as Jack made his way to the back and flung open the door to sign at the petite brunette woman behind the wheel before stepping back.

"Hi, you must be, Elsa and Anna, the woman said while her hands continued to sign. "I'm Caroline, Jack's mum. My son has said that we are giving you a lift home. Anna, if you want to take the front seat. Elsa, you and Jack can squeeze in the back with my daughter, Emily."

She nodded. Her eyes widened as Jack opened the door for her before running to the other side of the car. She swung her bag off her shoulder and slid in to take the seat. Her eyes fell on a wide-eyed girl with a cheeky smile and long brown hair. She offered the girl a shy smile and buckled her seatbelt.

"Are you Jack's girlfriend?" Emily asked bluntly, signing the words as she spoke.

She felt the heat rushing to her face. Anna let out a loud guffaw from the front seat. Even Jack's mother stifled a laugh. She glanced at Jack and noticed that he had a faint blush on his face and his hands were moving fast as he signed.

"I am Jack's friend and I'm a girl, but no. I'm not his girlfriend," she replied.

She watched as the young girl moved her hands to sign her response to Jack. Jack, in return, shook his head and signed back to her before reaching over and tousling her her hair.

"Jack said that I shouldn't embarrass him," Emily translated. "He's going to get mad at me for this, but I think you're pretty and you should totally date my brother. He needs a girlfriend."

"Oh I like her," Anna chuckled, turning in her seat to face the trio in the backseat.

She buried her head in her hands. She could hear the sound of Mrs Frost laughing gently in the background and a happy shriek coming from Emily.

"Emily, remember the rules. You must always sign what you have to say so that Jack is included. Even when you want to say things that will embarrass him," she chided

The sound of a text message arriving on her phone interrupted her. Raising her head, she reached into her pocket and pulled her phone out. She swiped across to read the message:

Jack: '_Want another sister? I'll gladly give you mine.'_

She grinned. Her eyes glanced at Anna who was deep in conversation with Mrs Frost as she gave her the directions to their home address. Shaking her head, she bent down to type her reply.

Elsa: '_I will trade sisters if you want. Anna's already decided that she likes yours. There must be some unwritten rule that says that if you're the younger sibling, you can try and embarrass the older sibling._

She watched as Jack grinned and nodded his head before tapping away at his phone.

J: '_The worst thing is that she knows that no matter what she says or does, she can get away with it. At the end of the day I still love the little munchkin' _

She grinned and nodded enthusiastically before bending her head down to respond.

E: '_It's the same with Anna. I tell you, it's a curse being the older sibling at times.' _

Sliding her phone back into her pocket, she watched as Jack leaned over to ruffle his sister's hair. The sound of Emily's happy laughter filled the car.

She could see her house getting closer as Mrs Frost pulled onto their street. Within seconds she had guided the car to a stop in front of their house. Cutting the engine, she turned around and faced Jack. He nodded and unbuckled his seatbelt before darting out of the door. He raced around to open the door for her before moving to open the door for Anna. Once Anna had exited the car, he leaned in to speak with his mum.

"It was lovely to meet you, Elsa and Anna," Mrs Frost called, signing away. "Elsa, Jack has just asked me if you could come visit on the weekend? He would like to have a movie marathon."

Blushing, she turned to look at Jack. She watched as he straightened up and faced her, a shy smile had crept across his face. "Oh, uh sure. I'll have to ask my parents, but I'm pretty sure that they will be fine with it. I'll send Jack a text, or message him on Facebook later this evening with my answer," she replied, watching as Mrs Frost signed her response to Jack.

"Sounds great, dear," Mrs Frost smiled. "I'll wait for your answer, until then, I'm sure we'll meet again. Now go on inside and get out of this rain before you catch a cold."

She nodded. She turned to wave goodbye to Jack before tightening the grip on her bag and stepping back to join Anna under the shelter of the porch. She watched as Jack slid into the front seat and closed the door before Mrs Frost started the car and pulled away from the kerb.

"He's cute," Anna said, draping her elbow on Elsa's shoulder. "You so like him."

She turned to face her sister and rolled her eyes. She watched as Anna pulled out the key and unlocked the door before flinging it open and darting inside.

"Anna!' she gasped. "He's just a fri-"

"Don't try and deny it, Elsa," Anna sang, interrupting her mid-sentence. "You like Jack and Jack definitely likes you. I know it, his sister knows it. It's just you two knuckleheads who seem to not know it yet. Don't worry, though. When you two come to realise what is blindingly obvious to me and Emily- you can thank us."

She let out a loud groan. She watched as Anna dashed out of sight. Shaking her head, she suddenly regretted the idea of not agreeing to trade sisters with Jack.

* * *

><p><strong>AN- Thank you all for your reviews and continued support. **


	6. Chapter 6

Jack raced around the house. He'd already tidied his bedroom and now the lounge room was in his sight as he strived to remove anything that could leave him feeling embarrassed in front of Elsa.

Carefully, he dusted the small bookshelf which lay in the corner of the lounge room. He'd been tempted to hide some of the photo's that were displayed, but his mother had already warned him against it. Instead, he stopped to gaze at the pictures that lay in the frames.

His hand lingered on a photo of him, aged 7, sitting on Santa's lap at his old school's Christmas fete. In his hand lay the man's fake snowy beard. At the time, his natural curiosity had got the better of him and he had pulled it off. He chuckled as he remembered the reactions of the children who had been waiting behind him in line. It had come as quite a shock when they had realised that Santa was actually their gym teacher, Mr Macklin.

He felt a tap on his shoulder and turned around. His mum was staring down at him with an amused expression on her face. "You do realise that I was the outcast at the mother's group for an entire month because of your little stunt," she pointed out. "All those parents had to think fast and deal with their children's questions. Still, it was my fault. I was far too busy trying to remember all the toys that you were asking for. I didn't even notice your hand reaching for his beard."

"I got in so much trouble for that!" he protested, pouting. "I didn't even get dessert that night."

"Just be grateful that missing dessert was all you got! Your father wanted to take away your Nintendo. Although, I think that was more to do with the fact that he wanted to play it than an actual punishment," his mother replied.

He frowned at the mention of his father. His dad had only been gone for a little over a year, but it felt like a lifetime with the way their lives had changed. His eyes glanced down at his 7-year-old self and sighed. The child in the photo had been surrounded by a community where hearing and speech impairments were the norm. He had been a kid whose parents were together and deeply in love. That child had no idea of the way in which his life would change in only a few years.

He still remembered the day when his mum had told him and Emily that their father was leaving. Tears had streamed down her face the entire time. His maternal grandparents had visited that evening. His grandfather had wasted no time in telling his mother that she would need to find another man. He had claimed that Jack being Deaf meant that he could never truly step up to be the man of the house. He recalled that his mum's expression had changed from sadness to anger and she had grabbed the half-empty coffee cup from his grandfather and had ordered him to leave.

He had stood there in shock. He had realised that his grandfather had said something to upset his mother, but had no idea what had been said. His grandfather had failed to sign. Instead, he'd had to rely on his sister, who had been sitting beside their mother to tell him what had been said.

He had fled to his room in anger and had flung himself on his bed. His mum had come to him shortly afterwards and had turned him to face her before she had pulled him into a tight hug. She had then released him and had reassured him that he would always be capable of achieving anything that he put his mind to.

From that day onwards, he had striven to prove his grandfather wrong. He had known that his life would always be slightly different. He couldn't hear and his home would always require modifications to help him. However, he still believed that he was capable of doing great things.

As a result, he had thrown himself into his studies and had continued to achieve good grades. He had the ambition to make it into university and to work his way towards a good job. He had also decided to step up around the house and had relied on his uncle to teach him simple household maintenance chores.

He felt a poke on his shoulder and looked up to find his mum smiling at him. "You got caught up in your own little word for a minute," she signed. "Is everything okay?"

He nodded and flashed her a smile "Yeah, it's fine. Just memories, Mum," he replied.

"Alright, well it's time to get going. We still need to do a grocery shop before we pick Elsa up," his mum said.

* * *

><p>Elsa reached into her overnight bag as she double-checked that she had everything packed for the night.<p>

She had not long approached her parents about visiting Jack's house when his mother had called. Unbeknownst to her, Jack had intended for her to spend the night so that they could properly enjoy their movie marathon. Mrs Frost had decided to speak with her parents so that she could make her first introduction to them.

After a bit of persuasion and the firm promise that Jack's mother would be home all weekend, her parents had agreed to her spending the night. Although, her father had insisted that she showed him the pyjamas that she had planned to wear. He had caught sight of her normal spaghetti strap singlet top and had insisted that she packed an old crew neck t-shirt.

"Elsa, your 'not-boyfriend' is here," Anna sang, poking her head into her room as a wide grin danced on her face. "It's time for your sleepover at Ja-ack's."

She turned around and glared at her. Picking up the plush toy that sat on her bed, she flung it towards her sister and let out a laugh as it hit her on the shoulder. Groaning, she turned back to her bag and threw in her pad paper and a few pens before zipping it closed.

"He's not my boyfriend," she protested as she slung her bag over her shoulder. "We are friends, Anna. That is all, friends."

"No, but you _are_ spending the night at his house and you _do _like him. I know that you like him," Anna teased, stepping out the way so that Elsa could brush past her.

Shaking her head, she made her way down the stairs. She smiled bashfully as she caught sight of Jack with his mum and sister. Her parents and Mrs Frost were deep in conversation.

"Elsa, guess what! Mum is making us spaghetti bolognaise for dinner!" Emily shrieked. "Also, we went to the supermarket and we got all sorts of yummy foods and soda for tonight."

Smiling, she looked over at Jack. She watched as he pulled out his phone and typed a message down. Leaning over, he showed the phone to her. '_She's a bit excited. Word of the wise- don't let her have too much candy or soda, or she will get hyper.'_

Laughing, she took the phone from him and typed her reply. '_Anna is exactly the same. You think she's hyper now? You should see her after she has had sugar.'_

Mrs Frost cleared her throat and reached over to tap Jack on the shoulder. "We better get going. I've got groceries in the car and don't want them going off," she explained.

She nodded. Turning around, she gave her parents a quick hug before bending down to grab her pillow. Shyly, she followed Jack, his mother and sister out to their car. She watched as Mrs Frost climbed behind the wheel of the car with Emily scooting into the back seat. Pausing, she turned to face Jack as she wondered where she should sit in order to chat with him.

As if sensing her uncertainty, Mrs Frost spoke out. "Take the front seat, dear. Jack can sit in the back. He can use his voice to talk and Emily will sign to him so that he knows what you and I say."

Nodding, she took her bag off and slid into the front passenger seat while Jack took the spot directly behind her in the back. Glancing out the window, she raised her hand to wave at her parents while Mrs Frost put the car into reverse. Her eyes fell on Anna, who was standing with her hand on hip and a wide smirk on her face as she waved them off. Rolling her eyes, she poked her tongue out at her sister before turning to face Mrs Frost.

"Forgive me for asking," she spoke, turning around in her seat to check that Emily was signing for Jack. "I was just wondering how you normally speak to Jack in the car? I'm sorry if that was an inappropriate question."

Biting her lip, she turned to look back at Jack. His eyes were focused on Emily as she signed. Once she had finished, he glanced up and caught her gaze before giving her a thumbs up.

"No, that is perfectly fine and I'm glad you ask," Mrs Frost began. "Normally, if I need to talk to Jack, I will use the steering wheel and finger spell. Jack will often use his voice to speak to me. Sometimes, depending on traffic, I will just poke him and he can turn to watch Emily translate for me. The only rule we have in our house is that whenever Jack is in the room, he must be included. That means that we either sign or write down whatever is being said. After all, if he had his hearing, he would be able to hear it. Him being Deaf is no reason for exclusion."

Turning around, she faced Jack and saw that he was locked in a heated conversation with his sister. Their hands were moving at a rapid pace and he was pulling faces at her. Looking up, he met her gaze and smiled at her. She couldn't help noticing the faint blush that had appeared on his face.

"Sorry, Elsa. Jack was just saying how be-" Emily began, her eyes lighting up before Jack clamped his hand over her mouth.

Chuckling, she turned her attention to the front of the car and watched as Mrs Frost pulled up the driveway of a modest single-story home before she cut the engine.

* * *

><p>Jack watched as Elsa stepped out of the car. Her eyes glanced at his home before she turned to face him. He flashed a smile at her. "Welcome to my home," he spoke.<p>

He watched as Elsa turned to smile at him. Nodding her head, she let him know that she had heard him. Leaning in the car, he pulled out her overnight bag and pillow before he headed to the back of the car. He grabbed a bag of groceries and carted them towards the front door.

He flashed Elsa a shy smile as she followed him, clutching two bags of groceries in her hands. He stood awkwardly on the front porch while his mum fumbled with the house keys.

Once the door was open, he grabbed Elsa's bag and pillow and led her inside. He gestured towards the lounge room where the air mattresses had already been set up for their movie marathon. Placing her bag and pillow down, he returned outside to help his mum, sister and Elsa bring in the groceries.

He set the groceries on the counter and moved to grab the iPad. Switching the device on, he tapped open the notepad application and handed it to Elsa. "Saves writing," he explained. "If you don't mind hearing my voice then I can speak and you can type."

Elsa shook her head. Bending down, she typed on the iPad. Her long platinum-blonde hair obstructed her face while she responded to her message. '_I don't mind,' _she replied. '_It's nice to hear your voice.'_

He blushed. Reaching his hand up, he scratched at the back of his neck. "Come on, I will show you around," he spoke, gesturing to the rest of his home.

He watched as Elsa tucked the iPad under her arm. Shyly, he led her around his small home. He couldn't help feeling a bit embarrassed at the size of his new home compared to her own house. The single-story home that they had moved into after his father had left was considerably smaller than his previous house. However, if Elsa was surprised at the size of his home, she didn't show it. Instead, she smiled bashfully and followed him as he pointed out the toilet, bathroom and laundry before leading her towards his bedroom.

Biting his lips, he pushed open the door and showed her his bedroom. He watched as her eyes lit up as she took in the sight of his double bed, bedside table, desk, wardrobe and his small TV with an old games console attached to it. Resting the ipad on her knee, she typed out a message.

"_You like video games as well?' _she wrote, smiling as she showed him screen.

He nodded. "I love them. Do you play?" he asked.

Elsa nodded. Bending her head down, she typed a response. '_I do. I love car racing games and the Grand Theft Auto series.'_

He grinned. Gripping her hand, he tugged her towards his console and pulled out his collection of games. "I'll challenge you to a race later," he spoke. "Although, I have to warn you, I'm pretty good."

A flash of brown hair brushed past him. Stepping back, he grinned as his sister dived onto his bed. Standing to her feet, she proceeded to bounce around in a hive of energy. Reaching over, he put his hand on Emily's shoulders to settle her.

"Don't bounce on my bed," he chided, wagging his finger. "Or else, I will bounce on your bed and break it."

Poking her tongue out, Emily raised her head to look at him. "Mum said to tell you that if you are going to have Elsa in your room, you have to keep the door open," she signed and spoke so that Elsa could hear. "She doesn't trust you to not do any gross stuff like kissing."

He felt his cheeks heating up. Coughing, he turned his head and noticed that Elsa's face had also turned a deep shade of red as she bowed her head. Smirking, he picked his sister up and threw her over her shoulders. Once she was settled, he carried her into her own room and placed her down on her own bed.

"Stay," he ordered, wagging his finger at her.

Turning on his heels, he gestured for Elsa to follow him. He lead her towards the back door and into their small, but neat backyard which housed his and Emily's bike and an aging swing set. He watched as a frown crossed Elsa's face. Bending down, she typed a message on the iPad.

'_I hope that it's okay to ask, but how do you know if someone is at the door?' _she asked.

Smiling, he beckoned for her to come with him to the front door. Opening the door, he pointed out the small sign that was placed under the bell- alerting callers to the fact that a Deaf person resides in the house.

He felt a tap on his shoulder and turned to face his mum. "I'll help," she signed, smiling at him.

He watched as his mum stepped outside. A few seconds later, she pressed the doorbell. He turned Elsa to show her how the receiver, which was currently resting on the mount on the wall, flashed a bright light for a series of repetitions while a chime sounded for the hearing people in the house.

"I can move the receiver if I'm home alone, or if we are in the backyard. Most times Mum and Emily hear it and will let me know. I we are in the same room then the receiver is in there with all of us," he said.

He watched as Elsa nodded before flashing a shy smile at him and his mum.

"Jack, show Elsa the rest of the modifications," his mum signed, speaking the words for Elsa's benefit.

He frowned and turned to face his mum. "What if she laughs at them, or at me?" he signed.

His mum glanced at him and pulled him aside. "Jackson," she signed. "She won't laugh. I can tell. She is a nice girl. She is curious to learn more because you are her friend. You are already trusting her to hear your spoken voice, so I say that you give her the chance to learn more."

Nodding, he turned back to face Elsa. He noted that she was biting her lip while she watched him and his mum signing back and forth.

"Come," he said, beckoning to her. "I'll show you a few more things."

* * *

><p>Elsa felt a tap on her shoulder. Turning around, she found herself face to face with Mrs Frost.<p>

"I'm sorry about before," she whispered. "You have to understand that things have been tough for Jack. He's not had it easy at his new school, but he refuses to tell me anything. He's a bit shy to show you the modifications. He's worried that you will laugh."

Frowning, she cast a look at Jack, who was locked in conversation with his sister. Shifting her attention back to his mum, she shook her head. "No, I could never laugh at him. I'm sorry, I shouldn't ask. It's just, he's my friend and I want to know more and to understand. I care about him," she whispered.

Mrs Frost smiled and lightly squeezed her shoulder. "I know, dear. It's good that you are asking- it shows that you care enough to take an interest," she said. "He feels comfortable with you. I can tell. If he didn't then he would not be so willing to actually speak around you."

Blushing, she turned her head to face Jack. She felt a smile gracing her face as he playfully shoved his sister.

As if on cue, he stopped what he was doing and moved to join her at her side. "Mum," he whined. "I can't show Elsa anything if you and Emily continue to interrupt us."

She chuckled. She watched as Mrs Frost turned to face Jack with a look of mock hurt. "Well, I know when I'm not wanted," she said. "Come on, Emily, you can help me prepare for dinner."

She stepped to the side as Emily skipped past, leaving her and Jack alone in the hallway.

"Come back to my room," Jack spoke, turning on his heels and walking towards his room.

Making her way into Jack's room, she found him holding up an ordinary looking alarm clock.

"Alarm," he said. "Looks pretty normal, but it's not."

She nodded. She watched as Jack lifted the mattress and pulled out a round device which was connected via a thin cord to the alarm clock.

"Vibrating pad," he explained. "The alarm goes off and it shakes my bed. Here, you try."

Blinking, she looked at him. She watched as he put the small pad back under the mattress before turning to fumble with the alarm. Stepping aside, he looked at her and gestured to the bed. "Lie down," he ordered.

Nodding, she placed the iPad on the desk before tentatively lying on his bed. She waited as Jack turned his attention to the alarm. He took a step back and fixed his blue eyes on her. Moments later, a loud sound could be heard as the alarm rang. Instantly, she felt the bed shaking as the pad vibrated from under the mattress. Her eyes widened and she sat upright before hopping off the bed to stand beside Jack.

"Fun, huh?" he said, grinning. "On school days I place the pad under my pillow just to be sure that I don't sleep through it."

Grinning, she reached over to grab the iPad. '_That was kind of fun,' _she replied.

He placed his hand on her forearm. Blinking, she followed his gaze as he pointed to a smoke alarm with a strobe light positioned above his bed. "Fire alarm," he pointed out. "It makes a sound which Mum and Emily hear. It has a really, really bright light that flashes for me. We have these located in the kitchen, hallway, lounge and my bedroom."

She watched as he reached under his pillow to pull out yet another pad. "Vibrating smoke alarm," he explained and pointed to a receiver that resembled a modem. "This one was really expensive, but Mum is paranoid. She says that we can't rely entirely on the flashing lights. If the alarm goes off it will shake the pillow."

She nodded. She found herself saying a silent prayer that the fire alarms would never have to be put to use. The thought of a fire breaking out was scary at the best of times. She couldn't begin to imagine the worry that Mrs Frost must have knowing that one of her children couldn't hear the alarm.

She felt Jack gently grip the iPad as he took it from her. '_Are you okay?' _he asked.

Taking the iPad, she leaned down to type her reply.'_I am. I'm just hoping that you never ever have to use the fire alarms.' _she replied. '_Hey, why did you stop talking just then?'_

Jack grinned. She watched as his mouth curled into his familiar lopsided smirk. "We can't have you getting too used to my voice," he teased. "I need to keep some sort of allure. You know, so that you continue to think I am cute."

Groaning, she stood in front of Jack and rolled her eyes. She took the iPad from him and bent down to type her reply. _I never said that you were cute. That was you and Anna ganging up on me and putting words in my mouth,' _she pointed out.

She watched as Jack leaned back to place a hand over his heart in an overly dramatic display of mock hurt. Leaning over, she pried the iPad from his hand.

'_How do you make phone calls?' _she asked, handing him the iPad.

Jack grinned. "Follow me," he spoke, leading her out of the bedroom.

She followed him out of the room. "For family and friends, I mostly use Skype. I like Skype because I can type or sign on it. I also use text messaging a lot," he explained as he led her into the kitchen. "If I need to call then I can use a video relay service."

She paused. Tilting her head, she watched as he led her towards a PC in the kitchen with a web camera. "I use this computer. We have a connection with a company. I boot up the computer and select the button to drag up the voice relay service," he began.

She glanced at the computer where he had loaded up an application with a small screen, number pad and a call pad. She turned to watch as he explained how he was able to type in a number to call. While he was doing that an interpreter would appear on screen for him to sign to. The interpreter would then relay what he was saying to the person on the phone and vice versa.

"I hardly use the voice relay service, but it comes in handy if I have to ring a business," he explained. "We also have a text phone."

She followed his gaze to find a landline phone with a series of small L.E.D lights down the bottom and a screen attached just above the console.

"I hardly use that," Jack said, pointing at the phone. "It works like a normal phone, but by pressing a button it connects to a text to talk operator who then converts what the person on the other side is saying into text so that I can read."

"That phone is mostly for mine and Emily's use," his mum explained, coming to join the conversation. "We just like to ensure that Jack can use it if he chooses to."

* * *

><p>Jack sat with his eyes wide, watching as his mum and Elsa engaged in a heated conversation. Carefully, he loaded the last of his mum's homemade spaghetti bolognaise into his mouth and watched as his mum signed the conversation to him.<p>

Beside him, Elsa scribbled on a piece of paper as she wrote down everything that she was saying so that he could keep up.

"I want to read," Emily cried, pouting as she turned to stare at the note.

He shook his head and pulled the paper away from his sister's prying eyes. "You can hear what Elsa is saying," he pointed out. "Plus you can hear what mum is saying as well as read sign language. Don't be nosy."

Emily turned to look at him, her pout making way for a cheeky expression as she glanced between him and Elsa. "Have you told Elsa that she's your girlfriend yet?" she signed. "Have you kissed her on the lips yet?"

He felt the familiar rush of heat to his cheeks. Shaking his head, he glared at his sister. "She's just a friend, Em," he signed.

He felt a soft kick to his ankle. Turning his head, he faced his mum. "I apologise, Elsa," she began. "My children normally obey the rules to make sure that everyone is included in the conversation. However, it seems that my youngest is determined to embarrass her brother about the status of your friendship."

He groaned. Pushing his empty plate out the way, he buried his head in his arms. He turned his head and noticed the faint traces of a blush creeping over Elsa's pale cheeks as she scribbled down a note.

"My sister is exactly the same," she replied, passing the note to him. "It's part of being the youngest I think."

Raising his head, he nodded at her.

"You know, Elsa. If you would like, we can teach you some sign language," his mum offered, signing as she spoke.

His eyes widened. Turning to face Elsa, he awaited her reply. '_You would do that?' _she asked, flicking her eyes between his mum and him.

He nodded enthusiastically. "Mum and I can teach you. That is, if you would like," he said, blushing slightly.

"That's right, dear. I've got all the books that I used to learn and to teach Emily," his mum said. "We could make a start tomorrow morning before I drop you home. Though, it all depends on what time you two wake up."

He turned to face Elsa and noticed the way she bit her lip. She nodded and pushed her empty plate to her side. A small smile crept over her face as she bent down to write a note.

'_I'd love to learn to sign,' _ she replied.

Grinning, he pushed his chair back and cleared the empty plates from the kitchen table. He placed them in the sink and filled it with hot water and detergent before leaving them to soak. Turning around, he watched as his mum and Elsa shifted their chairs to face him before continuing with their conversation.

He made his way to the fridge and pulled out two cans of soft drink before beckoning for Elsa to follow him. He watched as she excused herself and stood to her feet. He led her into the lounge room. Placing the cans on the coffee table, he pulled open the cupboard to show Elsa their collection of DVDs and invited her to select one to watch.

* * *

><p>Elsa settled on the couch and pulled the the blanket over her lap. She could feel herself blushing as Jack turned to face her and took in her pyjamas with her Team Norway hockey t-shirt.<p>

It had been Jack's suggestion that they change into their pyjamas before they slipped the movie on. She had agreed and had ducked into the bathroom while he had raced into his room and had changed into his Batman pyjama pants and t-shirt. They had then met back in the lounge room and had slipped the DVD into the player.

Despite the wide range of DVDs to choose from, the two of them had settled on having a Harry Potter marathon. Although, she had teased Jack with watching his sister's Barbie movie. She had claimed that as a guest, she had the power to make the choice.

She watched as Jack stepped over to flick on the lamp and settled on the other side of the couch. The newly charged iPad balanced on the coffee table alongside the bowl of potato chips and soft drink cans. Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed Jack fumbling with the remote as he set the subtitles up on the screen.

Jack had been quick to point out to her that he relied on subtitles or closed captioning when watching TV and movies. He'd explained that unless it was a movie that he was familiar with, the best way to speak with him was to pause the movie and pass the iPad over to him and give him the time to respond so that he didn't miss out on any important dialogue.

She let out a soft gasp. The sudden feeling of a cold can pressed against her cheek startled her. Turning around, she caught Jack with a wry grin on his face. Frowning, she climbed off the couch and headed into the kitchen. Pulling open the freezer, she found the ice tray and tipped a few cubes into her hand.

Holding her hands behind her back, she made her way into the lounge room and smiled sweetly at Jack. His eyes remained fixed on her as he watched her every move. Smirking, she moved to stand behind him. Reaching down, she pulled at the back of his shirt and dropped the cubes down his back.

"You play dirty!" he hissed, jumping as the ice came in contact with his back.

Smirking, she grabbed the iPad and clicked on the notepad application. '_You started it. I just finished it,' _she quipped, giggling.

* * *

><p>Jack blinked. Raising his head, he stretched out his arms. His eyes glanced at the clock and he noticed that it was 11am. He glanced at the TV and noticed that it had been turned off.<p>

The last thing he remembered was placing the sixth Harry Potter movie and hitting play. Elsa had fallen asleep during the fifth movie. He had turned down the volume on the TV before pulling out another blanket and placing it over her small frame.

Looking over, he noticed that the mattress Elsa had been lying on was empty and the blankets had been neatly stacked at the end of the couch. He pushed himself off the mattress and made his way into the kitchen.

His eyes fell on Elsa, who had dressed for the day and was sitting at the table with his mum. Both of their heads were bent over a beginners sign language book.

"Starting without me?" he spoke, watching as they turned in their seats to face him.

"Good morning," Elsa signed, blushing as she looked at him.

He grinned. "Good morning," he replied, signing and speaking. "You did that perfectly. Good start."

He watched as a wide smile appeared on Elsa's face and she bent down to type on the iPad. Shaking his head, he pulled out a bowl from the cupboard and grabbed the cereal from the pantry. With his breakfast sorted, he made his way to sit at the table and watched as Elsa placed the iPad in front of him.

'_Your mum is lending me the books. I am going to make some print outs when I get home so that I can keep it with me and practise. That is, if you have enough patience to put up with me,' _

He nodded. "Of course, I can put up with you. You are my friend," he replied.

* * *

><p>Elsa sighed as she pulled the covers over her body.<p>

Jack's mum had dropped her home not long after lunch which had allowed her to spend the remainder of the day with her family. She had spent most of the afternoon reading through the books on ASL which Mrs Frost had kindly lent her and had marked the pages with the diagrams for finger spelling and commonly used signs before she had scanned them onto her computer.

To her delight, her father had come in and enquired about what she was doing. When she had explained that she was learning sign to help her communicate with Jack, he had nodded and had glanced at the book before he had left the room.

He had returned a short time later and had told her that he'd discussed it with her mother and had decided to purchase a copy of the book. He had explained that the book was not too expensive and that he was happy to order it, so long as she was serious about learning to sign.

She had leapt to her feet and had hugged him. She had then proceeded to log onto her Facebook to send a quick message to Jack and had asked for permission to borrow the book until her own copy arrived.

Closing her eyes, she couldn't help thinking back of the weekend. She felt like it marked the beginning of something positive. Not only was she certain that her and Jack were friends, but she felt excited about the prospect of learning to sign. She couldn't help feeling grateful for the kindness that the entire Frost family had shown to her and their willingness to help her learn.

Life in the USA was slowly starting to feel a little less lonely now that she had a friend.

* * *

><p><strong>AN- Thank you all for your reviews, reading and your support. As I have stated before I am not deaf or hard of hearing. Therefore all that I am writing is a result of my research, and help from some kind people. All efforts are being made to be accurate, and fair.**

**On a separate note a restaurant has just opened in Yonge Street, downtown Toronto, ON, Canada. The restaurant is called 'Signs' and all wait staff are members of the deaf community. The customers can read the menu and see the signs needed to communicate with the waiters (or worst case scenario I'm guessing that they can just point at the menu item and/ or write a note. The restaurant has a fan page on FB (search Signs Restaurant) . If you are in/ or near Toronto then be sure to check them out/ support them.**

**I'll list the products which have served as inspiration for the Deaf/ Hard of Hearing products which make up Jack's home. **

**The Doorbell- I've used the A231 Libra flashing door chime brand. **

**Jack's alarm clock- I used the Sonic Alert Sonic Boom SB300ss**

**The smoke alarms- I've used two brands:**

**BRK SC9120B Smoke/ Carbon Dioxide alarm- this is the one with the LED strobe lights. **

**Silent Call Shake Up smoke detector with wall mount- this is the expensive one with the pad that is placed under the pillow. I sort of figured that Jack's mum would take no precautions, and would spend that bit more so that *should* a fire break out then Jack can be alerted via the strobe light or the vibrations. **

**PHONE CALLS/ COMMUNICATION**

**Admittedly I found this the hardest to research. I found a deaf community forum and it seemed that it's very much a personal preference type situation. That and where a person resides (rural/ semi rural/ suburban) as well as the urgency of the call can all have an impact. In the end I decided Jack would largely use skype and text to keep in contact with friends and family with the voice relay system to contact businesses etc. The Screenphone I imagine is mostly a last resort, but primarily there for his mum and sister's use as they have their hearing.**

**I've used Sorenson VRS- as the voice relay system which Jack makes use of if he needs to make a call. **

**The telephone handset I've used is the GEEMARC Screenphone, although from my research it seems that for a lot of people, the TTY method of conversing is being used less and less. **


	7. Chapter 7

The sound of the school bell echoed through the halls, signalling the end of yet another school week. Elsa pushed her chair back and carefully slung her backpack onto her shoulders before making her way into the hallway.

Pulling out her phone, she checked for a text, but nothing had come through. Shrugging, she slid the phone back into her pocket and made her way towards Jack's homeroom. She kept her eyes peeled for the familiar mess of silver-white hair that she had come to know so well.

Seven weeks had passed since she had first visited Jack's house. Since then she had become a regular visitor and had spent a few hours after school every Friday getting tutored in ASL by Mrs Frost.

Her lessons had been going well. The book that her parents had ordered on beginners sign language had proved to be incredibly helpful. She had only had the book for six weeks, but had already filled it with notes that she had learned from the Frost family. She had found herself spending a lot of time going over what she had learned at home and had even demonstrated her new skills to her own family, which had helped her to retain her knowledge.

A tap on her shoulder broke her from her thoughts. Looking up, she found Jack standing in front of her with a lopsided grin on his face. Behind him, she could see his interpreter Hans watching them with interest.

"Hello," he signed, smiling at her. "Lets go."

She returned the smile as she looked at him. "Hello," she replied as she mimicked his movements. She frowned as she realised that she was unsure of the second part of his message.

Cocking her head, she looked at him. "Wait, slow down," she said.

She watched as Hans stepped forward. Tapping Jack on the shoulder, he signed something to him before turning to face her. Opening his mouth, he was about to speak when Jack stepped into his view and shot him a look. She watched as Jack signed something. She recognised the first word as being 'Stop.' Once he had finished, he cocked his head in her direction. Stepping back, Hans shot her a grin and held his hands up in defeat.

Pouting, she turned to look at Jack. He shot her a smirk and indicated to her book, which was cradled in her arms. She let out a sigh and handed it him. Taking the book, he flicked through it until he found the page he wanted. Handing the book back to her, he pointed to a sign and grinned at her.

She felt a tap on her arm as Jack stole her attention. His hands repeated the same sign from earlier. Pursing her lips, she looked over the page and scanned the demonstrated signs until she found the one that he had used.

"Lets go?" she asked, flicking her head between Jack and Hans as she sought confirmation.

"Yes," Jack replied, beaming at her.

"Jack told me that you are doing well with your signing," Hans said, signing as he spoke.

She nodded and blushed slightly. She wanted to respond, but didn't have the knowledge of how to sign all the words that she wanted to say yet. Biting her lip, she looked between Jack and Hans and dug in her bag for some notepaper.

"It's okay," Hans spoke. "If you are unsure how to respond in sign then just talk and I will interpret for you."

Nodding, she slid the paper back into her bag and faced the two males. "I am enjoying it," she said, smiling. "I'm learning a lot. Mrs Frost told me to practise my signing in front of a mirror. She said that it will help with the way that I use my hands."

Hans nodded as he finished signing for Jack. He paused slightly before responding. "It is challenging in the beginning, but worthwhile. Keep at it and you will get there," he added. "Just wait until your teachers stop talking to you while signing- then it really becomes fun."

She chuckled. "Oh gosh, yeah Mrs Frost stopped talking while signing to me pretty quick. She said that it's something about ASL syntax and grammar being different to English grammar," she said. "The sign for 'slow down' was one of the first that I learned. It is good to know for situations like the one we had earlier."

"True, don't be afraid to ask someone to slow down with their signing while you are learning, or to repeat themselves," Hans added, stealing a glimpse at his watch in between signing. "Anyway, I must go. It is the weekend, after all. I'm sure that you kids don't want to hang around here any longer. Go enjoy your weekend."

She grinned. Tightening the strap of her bag, she waved farewell to Hans. She felt a tug on her hand as Jack indicated in the direction of the front doors of the school.

* * *

><p>Hans watched as Jack ran ahead, happily tugging on the hand of his friend as they raced towards the front door. He couldn't help noticing the change in his client. Over the last few weeks, Jack had become happier and there had been a sparkle in his eyes.<p>

It had pained him to know that the young boy had been so lonely. He had sensed that the boy had been lonesome and depressed in his new school. He had been given a wide berth by most of his classmates. He had assumed that most of the students avoided Jack because they felt it to be too troubling to write a note, or to speak via an interpreter in order to interact with him.

It was a shame though. He had only been working with Jack for a little under a year and had developed a fondness for the boy. He had found him to be caring, friendly, intelligent and with a great, albeit cheeky sense of humour. There had been plenty of times when he'd had to bite his lip to prevent himself from laughing too hard at a wisecrack that his young charge had signed. Instead of seeing that side of Jack, his classmates had only chosen to see the fact that he was Deaf and had left it at that. Although, it had appeared that not everyone had decided to leave Jack alone.

He had long believed that his client may have fallen victim to bullying. He had caught a group of boys who would repeatedly shoot threatening looks at Jack, or who had 'accidentally' bumped him in the hallway. There had also been times when Jack had arrived at school looking visibly shaken. Sadly, as an interpreter, his role was strictly limited to translating between Jack, his teachers and his fellow classmates. He had no authority in the classroom. He had discussed his concerns with Jack's homeroom teacher, as well as the school counsellor, but he had been shrugged off. Both staff members had said that without Jack approaching them and admitting to bullying, there was little that they could do. Instead, he had organised for the counsellor to approach Jack under the pretense of checking how his experiences at the school had been, but it had been useless. Jack had simply shrugged her off and had sworn that everything was fine.

He had stopped by his family home after work that day. He'd wanted to vent his frustrations to his mother and to get her advice. His mother had listened patiently before she had signed her response. She had told him that while she understood his concern, the chances were that if Jack was being bullied then he feared telling an authority figure would lead to more trouble. Reluctantly, he had agreed. After all, his mother had spent most of her life working as a counsellor for Deaf youth. Instead, he had resigned himself to simply being there and hoping that Jack knew he could go to him if needed.

However, a few weeks ago things had started to pick up. Jack had met a friend. A new girl had moved from Norway to Burgess at the start of the school year. Word in the student lounge had been that the older girl, Elsa, was quiet and more reserved than her younger sister. She had also apparently fallen victim to bullies who had preyed on her lack of confidence in spoken English.

He had quizzed Jack on his new friend. To his delight, Jack had happily told him about Elsa. He had recalled how she had taken to carrying notepad and pen with her so that they could communicate. Seven weeks ago, Jack had told him how he had organised for his new friend to spend the night at his house. Jack had come back to school after their sleepover with his face lit up and had happily told him how it had gone well. His new friend had showed interest in learning to sign and had even gone so far to purchase her own book to help her learn.

Shaking his head, he made his way towards the school's front office where he could sign himself out. He could feel himself relaxing as his thoughts went from Jack to the plans that he had for the weekend. However, nearing the office, he could hear the sound of voices as they echoed through the empty halls.

"Oh look, it's the Deaf boy and the freak," a girl's voice spat.

Frowning, he looked up. He could see Jack and Elsa standing with their backs pressed against the wall by a dark-haired girl and a boy that he recognised from some of Jack's classes. He noticed the fear on their faces and the way Elsa's eyes moved from Jack to the two students.

"I would invite the two of you to my Halloween party this weekend, but there is no point," the girl hissed, her hand placed on her hip. "One of you can't hear the music and the other one can barely speak English. Besides, Halloween's a time when you dress up all freaky and well...you two do that on a daily basis.

He could feel the anger rising. Growing up with profoundly Deaf parents, he had seen the cruelty that some people could bestow upon the Deaf. As a child, he had been subjected to bullying. His classmates would watch him be dropped at school and would wait patiently while he'd signed goodbye to his mother. Once his mother had left, they would approach him and would wave their hands in mockery of sign language, all the while they would taunt him and would make the cruel assumption that his parents were of lower intellect. As a result, they had often called him and his older brothers stupid and had told him that he was genetically prone to stupidity.

"What's going on here?" he shouted, picking up his pace as he moved towards the teens.

He watched as the bullying girl took a step back. Her jaw unclenched and she forced a smile before she turned to face him. "Nothing, we are just talking," she lied. "I noticed that Elsa here is learning to sign and I was interested in her progress."

He cocked an eyebrow as he moved his hands to translate the girls words to Jack. He noticed how Jack bowed his head and diverted his eyes. He stole a glance at Elsa and noticed how her blue eyes were fixed on Jack

"It's funny," he spoke, his voice low. "I actually overheard part of your conversation and it sure didn't sound like you were asking about sign language."

The girl's face turned a deep shade of red. Her brows furrowed as she looked at him. "It's j...just a friendly little joke," she stammered. "Anyway, we have to go now. We have a busy weekend."

To his relief, the girl tightened her grip on her backpack and grabbed the hand of the boy and pulled him out the door. Resisting the urge to roll his eyes, he turned to Jack. However, it was useless. Jack's head was down and he was focusing his attention on his phone instead.

Opening his mouth, he decided to try his luck with Elsa and to ask her about what had happened when she spoke. Picking up her bag, she told him that Jack's mum had just texted and that she was waiting for them out the front of the school. Sighing, he watched as the two teens gave him a brief wave before dashing out the front door.

* * *

><p>Jack grinned as he made his way up the driveway of the Andersen home. He could feel his excitement building for the night of trick-or-treating that was waiting for them. No sooner had he raised his hand to knock on the front door than it opened and a beaming Anna waved him inside.<p>

Once inside he turned to take in Anna's outfit. She had dressed herself in blue overalls with a yellow striped t-shirt and white sneakers. Her strawberry-blonde hair had been hidden underneath a short black wig which had been tied so that the ponytail stuck straight up.

"Hello," she signed before making her way to hold the door open for his mother and sister.

He watched as Anna closed the door before she reached over to grab a piece of paper and pen. '_Apologies, Jack. Elsa is teaching us some ASL, but I am not picking it up as fast as she is,' _she wrote, passing the paper to him.

Bending down, he wrote his reply. '_You are trying. That means a lot,' _he replied, handing the paper back. '_By the way, what are you dressed as?'_

Anna pouted. Picking up a plush white unicorn toy, she placed it under her arms and grabbed the paper and pen to reply. '_I am Agnes from Despicable Me.'_

"I love Agnes!" signed Emily. "It's so fluffy, I'm going to die!"

"Wait, isn't Agnes meant to be five-years-old?" he signed, raising his eyebrow as he watched Emily translate.

He watched as Anna pouted before removing the toy unicorn and tossing at him. Reaching across, she grabbed the pen and paper and bent down to write her reply. '_Wait until my father hears about this!'_

Grinning, he pulled open the replica Slytherin robes that his father had bought him to reveal his black pants, white dress shirt, grey sweater and the green and silver Slytherin tie. "Draco is the best," he stated, watching as Emily turned to translate.

He felt a tap on his shoulder and turned around. A lopsided grin appeared on his face as he took in the sight of Elsa. She had dressed in black pants, a white dress shirt, grey sweater and had the yellow and maroon Gryffindor tie that he had lent her. Her platinum-blonde hair had been left down. In her arms, she held her replica wand and the black Gryffindor robes that she had ordered.

"You look nice," she signed, smiling shyly.

He blushed. He watched as Emily flung her arms around Elsa's waist before pulling back. "I'm a princess, Elsa," she said.

Raising his hands, he was just about to let fly with a smart response when his mum stepped into view and caught his eye.

"Alright," his mum signed and spoke. "We need a bit less chatting. The Andersen's want to take some photo's and we need to do that before you kids leave. I don't want you out too late."

He stepped back and watched as Elsa's parents pulled out a camera and bundled their daughters into position before snapping photo's. He glanced around the room and took in the few decorations that dotted the walls, Elsa had said to him that Anna had been the one who had been behind their decision to decorate the house. On the coffee table sat a large bowl of candy, which he suspected was also Anna's doing.

"Jack," his mum called. "Come stand next to Elsa."

Nodding, he made his way to stand beside Elsa. Turning to face Walt Andersen, he slung his arm around her.

"Smile," Walt signed before turning to face Caroline Frost.

He grinned as he watched his mother speak to Elsa's dad. Her hand's signed and let him know that the Andersen patriarch had asked if he had got the sign right. He had then gone on to explain to her how Elsa had been enthusiastic in teaching her family the signs that she was learning.

"She's picking it up really well," he signed, watching as his mum translated. "Mum says that Elsa has picked up sign language even faster than she did."

Turning to face Elsa, he smiled wickedly and pulled out his wand before adopting a dueling stance. To his delight, Elsa caught on and pulled out her own wand before mimicking his stance. Together, they turned to face their parents and allowed the adults to snap a series of fun shots with them pretending to be engaged in a duel.

He felt a tap on his hand and turned to face his sister. "You know," she said, her mouth speaking the words for Elsa's benefit. "Anna told me that she used to ship Draco and Hermione as boyfriend and girlfriend."

He let out a cough and nervously rubbed a hand over the back of his neck. Stealing a glance at Elsa, he noticed that her face was as red as his. Looking down, he decided to focus his attention on re-tying his shoelace. Out of the corner of his eye, he spotted Anna stealing a high-five from Emily and groaned.

* * *

><p>Elsa felt her cheeks heating up as she followed Jack into her family dining room. Taking her place at the table, she watched as Emily loudly announced to Mrs Frost that 'everyone' had thought Elsa and Jack were a couple. The young girl's hands moved fast as she signed for Jack's benefit, before stopping to steal another high-five from Anna.<p>

They had not long returned from their first time trick-or-treating. Together, her Jack, Anna, Emily and her father had door-knocked on the houses in their neighbourhood and had collected small treats in their buckets from the household occupants.

The younger sisters, Anna and Emily, had led the door-knocking. They had eagerly stood front and centre and had yelled 'Trick-or-Treat.' Emily had then stopped to inform the amused homeowner that her brother was Deaf and had stepped aside so that Jack, Elsa and Walt could sign trick-or-treat.

After an hour and a half of traipsing around the neighbourhood, they had returned home with their arms laden with treats. Along the way, Anna and Emily had continued to bond. They had started with discussing their love for One Direction and had finished by saying how 'cute' a couple Draco and Hermione would make. To her dismay, Emily had continued to sign so that Jack knew exactly what had been said.

* * *

><p>Jack leaned back against the passenger seat of his family car and waved farewell as his mother backed the car out of the Andersen's driveway.<p>

He waited until the Andersen home fell out of sight and dug in his pocket to find a small chocolate bar that he'd taken out of his candy haul for safe-keeping. Unwrapping it, he popped it in his mouth and savoured the taste. He felt a tap on his arm and turned to find his mother holding out her hand. Grinning, he dug into his candy bucket and handed her a treat.

He couldn't wait to get home and unwind on the couch. Emily would be sent to bed as soon as they arrived home which would allow him the chance to relax with his mum. He was keen to go over the events of the night without his sister listening and piping up with suggestions that Elsa was bound to become his girlfriend. Instead, he wanted to hear about his mum's evening.

He had not failed to notice the sparkle in her eyes that she'd had all night. He knew without even discussing it that she had enjoyed her time with the Andersen's. When he had arrived back from trick-or-treating, the candy bowl had been empty and his mother and Lillian Andersen had shared in a few private jokes. It had been apparent to him that the two mother's had bonded and the signs of a new friendship had been evident.

He couldn't remember the last time he'd seen his mother relaxing and socialising with other adults. Since his father had left, she had spent most of her time either working or at home tending to him and his sister. The majority of his parent's friends had ceased to visit after his father had left and he knew that despite her happy facade, his mother was lonely.

That was why when Elsa had invited him and his family to dinner at her home following their trick-or-treating, he had agreed. Fortunately, his mother had not been too annoyed that he had said yes to the invite without consulting her first. Besides, he'd reasoned that it would be good for his mother to get to know Elsa's own mother. Elsa had expressed that her own mother had felt lonely since moving to America. As far as he was concerned, it was a win-win situation. Set two lonely ladies up and hope for a friendship to develop.

* * *

><p>"They are lovely," Jack's mother signed, settling back on her recliner. "I really like that family."<p>

Jack nodded and swallowed the last bite of candy that he was eating. "They are," he agreed. "I am so glad that they moved here. Do you know that Mr Andersen even signed with Elsa and me?"

His mother beamed at him. "I do," she replied. "He was quite eager to show Lillian and me. It's just so nice how they welcomed us, Jackson."

He nodded, remembering the way the Andersen's had placed paper and pen in easy view in the lounge room and on the dining room table. The family had wasted no time in writing when their knowledge of sign language ran out.

"Don't think I didn't notice that you actually spoke tonight," his mother murmured, smiling at him.

He grinned. "I feel comfortable with them," he admitted. "They are good people."

He watched as his mum's face softened and he noted the faint traces of tears in her eyes. Smirking, he reached into his candy haul and pulled out a chocolate to toss to her.

Sighing, he picked up his phone and scanned through the photo's that he had snapped. Photo's of him and Elsa in their costumes, smiling and posing happily for the camera. He'd had one of the best nights of his life and he knew that Elsa had enjoyed it as well. Together, they had enjoyed the freedom that came with being surrounded by people who loved and cared for them.

* * *

><p><strong>AN- Just a fun (well I hope) chapter where we get to learn a bit about how Elsa's signing lessons are coming along. As well as Hans as he appears in this story. Sadly there is a lot of ignorance that can exist about Deaf people. I've learned thanks to Zulka that some parents believe that their Deaf child may be of lower intellect. Some even not bothering to sign when in the presence of their Deaf family member :(.**

**I'd like to point out as a guest mentioned lip reading and speech therapy. My research (and please PM me if I'm wrong) seems to suggest that while lip reading can be beneficial, it is not always reliable due to similarities in the pattern of certain words/ whether the speaker is speaking clearly etc. My research suggests that it is a learned skill, and indeed there are classes that can be taken to help to learn how to read lips.**

**In regards to the Speech therapy- that is something I'll do some more research on. I know that in this story Jack (and Hans parents) are profoundly Deaf. Action on Hearing Loss UK classes profound Deafness as being where the quietest sound a person can hear is 95 decibels. According to Galen Carol Audio (site name) 95 decibels is the sound of a subway train approaching from 200 feet away. So that is the *quietest* sound someone like Jack (in this story) can hear. **

**Until next time. Keep Calm and Ship Jelsa. **


	8. Chapter 8

Six weeks had passed since Halloween and in that time a lot had changed. The cool crisp autumn air with its vibrant reds and oranges had disappeared and had made way for the onset of winter. Thick snow had fallen to cover the city of Philadelphia and its suburbs. Halloween decorations had long been packed away for the following year. Thanksgiving garnishings had been quick to appear only to be taken down once the holiday had passed and had joined the Halloween decorations in storage. Slowly, but surely Christmas decorations had begun to appear in homes and stores.

The Halloween weekend had only just passed when Caroline Frost had rung to request the presence of the Andersens at the Frost home for Thanksgiving. She had explained that it would only be herself, Jack and Emily, therefore, the four Andersens would make for a delightful and welcomed addition. Lillian Andersen had eagerly accepted, urged on by Anna who'd had her heart set on trying the famous pumpkin pie that she had heard about from her new school friends. Lillian had claimed that it would be nice to spend the time with her new friend.

Lillian Andersen had discovered a kindred spirit in Caroline Frost. She had found a caring, loving mother who doted on her children and who had been so welcoming to her own daughter, Elsa. She had appreciated the way Caroline had gone out of her way to teach Elsa sign language and had always provided a meal for her on the nights that she had her lessons. When Caroline had called after Halloween to invite her for coffee, she had happily agreed. With time, the two mothers had formed a friendship which had helped ease both their loneliness. Caroline had even suggested that Lillian considered changing the status of her visa which would allow her to work in the United States. She had claimed that it could help solve the boredom that she had felt since being forced to remain at home while her husband worked and her daughters attended school.

Caroline Frost, on the other hand, had found a kind, generous family who had not only accepted her, but her beloved children as well. She had been so impressed upon meeting the Andersen daughters, having witnessed the way the kind-hearted girls had treated her own children. When she had been invited to dinner following Halloween, she had accepted. The night that she had spent at the Andersen's for Halloween had been one of the happiest times that she'd had in a long time. She had watched as their children had gone trick-or-treating and had interacted like old friends. All the while, she had remained behind with Lillian and had shared stories and had gushed about each other's children.

Both mothers had agreed that Jack and Elsa's friendship had been the best thing that had happened to the respective teens since they had started at their new school and had inspired many positive changes.

* * *

><p>Elsa shivered. Pulling her black trench coat tighter around her body, she stepped off the bus. Beside her, she felt Jack grip her arm as he stole her attention and pointed her in the direction that they were heading.<p>

"Not far from here," he signed, smiling at her.

She nodded and followed Jack as he led her through the busy sidewalks of downtown Philadelphia. He had arranged to meet some of his friends from his old school in the city for a hot drink and had invited her to join them. The meetup, he had explained, was due to happen in a cafe that was owned by one of his former teachers and was quite popular amongst members of the Deaf community. To her surprise, she had agreed. She had been eager to meet the friends that she had heard so much about.

She felt a tap on her arm and realised that Jack had stopped outside of a small, well-lit cafeteria on a side street. She watched as he peered through the window and waved to someone inside. Suddenly, she felt the nerves overcoming her at the prospect of meeting Jack's friends. She couldn't help fearing that she would make a mistake, or that they would hate her.

As if sensing her nerves, Jack turned to face her and tapped her hand. "Hey, he spoke. "You will be fine. My friends will love you. They are all very excited to finally get to meet you."

She frowned. She knew that both Jack and Mrs Frost had said that her signing was coming along well. She also knew that she was able to recognise more words and was slowly building up to being able to hold longer signed conversations. However, this would be the first time that she would be spending in the company of people that were Deaf. One of the things that Mrs Frost had mentioned was how important and supportive the Deaf community was to those in it. In learning ASL, she was not just learning a language. She was learning about a culture, an entire community that came with its own set of rules and social niceties. It would be all too easy for her to make a mistake and possibly offend Jack's friends.

"What if I make a mistake?" she asked, looking at Jack.

Jack paused to look at her. Raising his hand, he stroked his chin before leaning forward and wrapping her in a hug. Stepping back, he blushed slightly before he spoke. "You are perfect. My friends all know that you are learning. You are trying your best. That is all we can ask for. Besides, they will be too busy trying to embarrass me in front of you than to pick up on any minor mistakes."

She was about to pull out her pad to write down another question when the door to the cafe flung open and a petite girl with dark hair leapt out. The girl tapped Jack on the shoulder before flinging her arms around him in a hug. She watched as Jack stumbled slightly underneath the girl's enthusiastic embrace. Pulling back, the girl stood to the side so that both Jack and Elsa had a clear view of her hands as she signed her greeting.

"Tia," Jack spoke, while his hands signed. "Good to see you too. We will head inside now. I will do a formal introduction inside where it is warm."

She smiled and watched as the girl traipsed ahead to hold open the door for her and Jack to enter. She felt Jack reach down to grip her hand and blushed, allowing him to lead her towards a round table situated near an open log fire.

Her eyes fell on Jack's friends. She could recognise them immediately from the photo's that Jack had shown her. Sandy, the small blonde boy with a splattering of freckles and green eyes sat closest to her. To the left of Sandy was Aster, the tall Australian-born boy, who Jack had nicknamed Bunny, the Easter kangaroo. Rounding up the group was Aster's girlfriend, Tia, with her colourful clothes and welcoming smile.

She watched as Jack greeted his friends enthusiastically before introducing her to everyone. Once the introductions were done, he pulled out a chair and invited her to sit.

Blushing, she took her seat. She felt a tap on her shoulder and turned to find Aster staring at her. "Don't be afraid to tell us to slow down," he said. "We've brought pad and paper to help you as well."

"Thank you," she replied, her eyes falling on the paper and pens that lay in centre of the table. She noticed that someone had also placed an iPad out and open to the notepad application as well.

Beside her, she felt Jack poke her. Turning to face him, she watched as he pulled his own iPad out from his bag and handed it to her. "Just in case," he spoke.

Bending her head down, she typed out a message. She could hear Jack speaking as he relayed what was being said amongst the friends.

'_Jack said that you would tell me why he calls you Bunny and the Easter kangaroo,' _she wrote, placing the iPad in clear view of Aster and the rest of the table.

Aster frowned and shot a look at Jack, who responded by poking his tongue out.

"Allow me, Elsa," Jack spoke, signing for his friends benefit. "You see, when we were in grade two, we had an Easter parade. We all had to dress up in an Easter theme. Aster came in a bunny outfit, but he couldn't hop properly. He looked more like a kangaroo than a rabbit. So, I called him the Easter kangaroo. Also, he was born in Australia so the name suits him.

Giggling, she raised an eyebrow and looked at Aster and watched as he signed the word for idiot and pointed at Jack. Turning to face Jack, she watched as he poked his tongue out again and responded with yet another name.

She felt a tap on her arm. Shifting her head, she saw Tia smiling widely at her. "They always tease each other. Talk to Sandy and I-"

Frowning, she pulled out her sign language book and asked Tia to slow down. To her relief, Tia smiled and repeated herself at a much slower pace. In the background, she noticed Sandy had bent his head down to scribble a note on the paper.

'_Jack and Aster always fight like this. They have a complicated friendship. We know that they care for each other, but they love to tease each other. Like Tia said, they can carry on bickering for ages. Talk to Tia and I, we are the mature ones,' _ he said, passing the note to her.

Nodding, she sat back and watched as the playful banter continued around her.

* * *

><p>Leaning back on her chair, Elsa watched as the friendly conversation slowly drew to a halt around her.<p>

The time she had spent in the cafe with Jack's friends had been an eye opener for her. She had loved getting to see Jack relax and feel comfortable to speak in an environment where he'd felt comfortable. She had noticed that the patrons of the cafe were mixed. Although, there had been a large percentage of Deaf customers and the staff had all been able to sign. Jack had explained to her that the majority of the wait staff had their hearing, but had all been trained to speak ASL.

They had spent a little under two hours with his friends and had made their way through a few cups of tea and a slice of cake as well. She had been able to hold a conversation, albeit slowly, with Tia and had happily discussed her favourite movie with the friendly girl. Her anxiety had slowly faded away and she had realised that Jack's friends would not laugh at her. Instead, they had been only too happy to slow down and repeat themselves, or to point out the signs that she was unfamiliar with.

She had noticed a few things that Mrs Frost had told her about, namely how much the Deaf community relied on facial expression when talking and the importance of giving eye contact when signing. She had even noticed that Sandy had made sure that the table had known exactly where he was going when he had left to use the restroom. Body contact had been used a lot. She had noticed that they relied on taps on the hand, or arm in order to alert someone that they had wanted to speak to them.

She felt a squeeze on her shoulder and turned to face Jack. A wide smile had crossed his face as he looked at her. "See, I told you that you would be amazing," he spoke.

* * *

><p>Jack groaned. His eyes fell on the bus that they were meant to catch as it pulled away from the stop. Beside him, he felt Elsa come to a halt as she realised that they had missed their bus. Shrugging, he turned to face her and pulled her out of the way of the crowd. Once they were safely out of the way, he reached into his pocket and pulled out the timetable that he had shoved in there. His eyes scanned over it and he shook his head.<p>

"We have to wait 30 minutes for the next bus," he explained, showing the timetable to Elsa.

She nodded her understanding. He watched as her eyes lit up and she turned to stare at something behind him. Turning his head, he followed her gaze until he saw the small kiosk that was selling hot chocolate and snacks. He grinned at her. Knowing Elsa and her penchant for chocolate, she had already planned a way for them to keep busy.

He felt a tap on his shoulder and turned to face Elsa, noting the wide smile on his face. "Do you want a hot chocolate? My treat," she asked.

He nodded enthusiastically. "You're on," he replied and followed her as she led the way towards the kiosk.

He waited patiently while Elsa purchased their drinks before he led her towards a bench under shelter and sat down. Gratefully, he took the drink from her and sipped it. He watched as Elsa dug into her purse and pulled out her phone. Placing her drink down and her phone on her lap, she let him know that she was sending a text to her mum.

He watched as a strand of hair fell to partially obscure her face as she bent over the phone and sent a text to her mum. Resisting the urge to push the hair back, he simply gazed at her. A small smile crossed his face as he thought about how amazing she had been with his friends.

He knew that she had been nervous about the visit. She was shy at the best of times and the fear of making a mistake with her signing had plagued her. However, she had trusted him to look out for her and to keep her safe. He'd had faith in her ability and had known that she was doubting herself for nothing.

Unsurprisingly, their visit with his friends had gone well. He had introduced Elsa, his only friend from his new school, to the friends that he had grown up with. As expected, his friends had been prepared and had made sure that there was pen and paper available so that they could communicate with Elsa. Elsa, in return, had been perfect. She had tried hard and had managed to sign a great deal of words and had remembered to ask his friends to slow down when needed. His friends had all loved her and had been impressed with the skills that she had already learnt.

He felt a tap on his shoulder and lifted his head to meet Elsa's gaze. "Bus is here," she signed, pointing to the bus that had pulled into the stop.

Nodding, he stood to his feet. He grabbed their empty drink cups and tossed them in the bin while Elsa packed her beginners sign language book back in her handbag and joined the queue for the bus.

After they had paid their fare, he pulled Elsa towards a seat and waited patiently for her to slide in before he settled down beside her.

He poked her and waited for her to face him. "Hey," he said. "Today was great. You were amazing. My friends loved you."

He watched as a blush crept over Elsa's pale face and her whole face broke into a smile. He felt his phone vibrate in his pocket. Reaching down, he pulled the phone out from his pocket and swiped at the screen to read the text that had been sent by Tia.

Tia: '_Tell her'._

* * *

><p>Elsa laughed. She watched as Jack pushed open the doors that led out of the school. Stepping into the cool air, he took a deep breath and pumped his fist triumphantly. He did the same thing every Friday. He would race her through the school hallway until they had stepped out to freedom. At that point he would raise his fist and celebrate the end of yet another school week.<p>

She fell in step with Jack. Their shoulders lightly bumped as they made their way towards the school carpark to wait for his mum. Their silence was broken by the sound of a text beeping on his phone. She paused and stepped to the side while Jack pulled the phone out of his pocket. He swiped at the screen and read it before handing the phone to her. Frowning, she leaned forward to read the text from his mum. The message claimed that she had been held up by Emily's teacher and would be a bit late to collect them.

Nodding, she passed the phone back to Jack. She watched as he slipped it back into his pocket. They continued on their way towards the car park. She wasn't surprised to see that most of the student cars had already gone, except for a few stragglers.

She felt the hard impact of a body crashing into hers from behind, sending her falling to the ground. Ignoring the pain, she turned her head to see Violet and Tyler, along with a few of their friends, surrounding her. Their loud laughter filled her ears. She could feel the tears welling up and sniffed them. She was not about to let her bullies see her cry. No, they would not get that honour.

"Stop," she heard Jack speak, his voice firm. "Leave her alone."

She gasped. Jack turned around, his eyes had widened in surprise as he extended a hand to help her to her feet. Taking his hand, she stood to her feet. A dull ache ripped through her leg from the impact of the fall. However, all that paled in comparison to the shock of hearing Jack speaking in front of their bullies. She studied his face as the realisation of his action hit him.

Turning around, she glanced at their bullies. Their eyes were fixed on Jack, a look of shock on their faces. She knew that Jack was nervous of being teased for his spoken voice and for him, having spoken in front of their bullies was a big deal. Instinctively, she tightened her grip on his hand and stepped closer to him.

"He talks!" Tyler smirked, jabbing his friend before pointing at Jack. "Did you hear his voice? It was hilarious!"

She felt her heart sinking as their bullies broke into even louder laughter. Stepping forward, she narrowed her eyes and glared at them. She could feel the anger rising within her. For the last few weeks, both her and Jack had been bullied by these people for seemingly no reason and she'd had enough. The stress of not knowing when they would strike, or what they would do to her and Jack was one thing. However, the mere thought that they could be planning to attack him when he had just done something so incredibly brave, made her furious.

"Leave him alone," she snapped. "He has done nothing to you. Nothing to deserve this."

Gulping, she watched as Violet stepped closer to her boyfriend. Her hand settled on Tyler's shoulder before she turned to face her and Jack. Her cold, unblinking eyes fixed on them. "Oh relax, Elsie. It's not like your boyfriend can hear us anyway," she hissed. "Although, I do think that it's awfully cute how you two freaks came to be anyway."

She glared at Violet, watching as she broke into derisive laughter. Everytime she thought that Violet couldn't possibly get any nastier, she went and proved her wrong. Except now, she had gone too far. Opening her mouth, she was just about to respond when a car horn sounded.

She watched as Violet shifted her attention to Mrs Frost who had pulled into a park. Seizing her moment, she tugged on Jack's hand and pulled him towards the safety of his mum's car. She could hear their bullies mocking them in the background, but ignored them. Her gaze was fixed on the Frost's station wagon.

She watched as Mrs Frost wound down the window to speak to them. "Is there something that I need to know about?" she asked, her eyes glancing up and down her and Jack.

Blinking, she looked at her. Looking down, she followed the older woman's gaze until she caught sight of her and Jack's connected hands. Blushing, she released her grip on his hand and slid her bag off her shoulder.

* * *

><p>Jack focused his attention on the blank ceiling. His mind continually replayed the events of the afternoon and evening as he tried to make sense of it.<p>

He had been walking with Elsa to the carpark when Violet had struck. She had slammed into Elsa from behind and had sent her falling to the ground. He had watched as Elsa had fallen and had leapt into action, almost instinctively. He had spoken and had called for the girl to stop before he had bent down to help Elsa back to her feet. He had not even realised that he had used his voice until the attention had shifted to him.

His heart rate had escalated and he had watched as the bullies had turned to gawk at him. He had then watched as Tyler had said something which had caused the rest of his friends bodies to shake with laughter. He had no idea what had been said, but he'd known based off the look on Elsa's face that it had been really nasty.

Elsa had glared at the group and had stepped forward to confront them. Her action had spurred Violet to respond with something that caused Elsa to get even angrier. She had lowered her gaze and had stared at them. He had never seen her so angry before. Whatever had been said, had pushed her to her limit.

It had only been once they had reached the safety of the car that she had filled him in on what had been said. As he'd expected, Tyler had mocked his spoken voice. Elsa had snapped and had told Tyler to leave him alone. She had then explained that Violet had spoken up in support of her boyfriend and had cruelly pointed out that there was no need for her to react because Jack could not hear the taunts.

Despite the cruelty of Tyler and Violet's bullying, it wasn't they who were keeping him from sleeping. It was Elsa.

Little did Elsa know, that she had been the topic of conversation after she had excused herself to use the restroom at the cafe. No sooner had she turned her back, had Aster turned to face him with a wide grin on his face. He had wasted no time in accusing Jack of liking her. Naturally, he had responded and had pointed out that Elsa was his friend and it was natural that he liked her. That had been when Sandy had interrupted to point out that their conversations over the last few weeks had all been dominated by him talking about Elsa. He had blushed at the suggestion. That had been when Tia had piped up and had claimed that she had called it ever since he had first mentioned Elsa. She had said that having met Elsa, she now had no doubt that it was true. She had stated that it was obvious that him and Elsa had romantic feelings for each other.

The suggestion that he liked Elsa had risen once again after his mother had pointed out that him and Elsa had been holding hands when she had picked them up earlier. He had claimed that it was only because he had helped her to her feet after a nasty fall, but the look on his mother's face had told him that she didn't believe him.

To his dismay, his darling younger sister had not failed to notice that they had held hands. She had waited until Elsa's family had arrived for coffee and cake to inform Anna. She had happily blabbed to the younger Andersen about how their older siblings had been caught holding hands.

Groaning, he rolled over to his side. He couldn't like Elsa. Of course, she was friendly, caring, intelligent, kind, protective and incredibly beautiful, but that didn't mean he had deeper feelings for her...did it?

* * *

><p>Elsa sighed. Rolling over to her side, she tried once again to fall asleep. She had tried having a warm bath as well as a hot chocolate to relax herself, but so far her efforts had proved to be useless.<p>

Her mind had kept replaying the events of the last few hours repeatedly. After getting to Jack's, she had checked her knee. To her relief, it had appeared to be fine with only a small bruise which had started to form. Her anger at Violet and Tyler's cruelty had subsided almost as soon as she had arrived at the Frost's home.

Emily Frost had been in the car and had witnessed her and Jack holding hands. Despite their attempts to tell her that it had been innocent, she had not been convinced. Instead, she had waited until later in the evening to inform Anna that their older siblings had been caught out.

To her dismay, Anna and Emily had then joined forces and had claimed that it was destiny and that her and Jack were in love. They had spent the rest of the evening watching her and Jack's every move as if desperate for some kind of hidden sign that they were more than friends.

Groaning, she shifted onto her back. She couldn't like Jack. He was her friend. Sure, he was smart, friendly, funny, cheeky, caring, courageous and definitely good-looking, but that didn't mean that she liked him.


	9. Chapter 9

Elsa squealed as the cold, wet snowball came in contact with the back of her thigh, taking her completely by surprise. Spinning around, she found herself face to face with Jack. He smirked at her before bursting into loud laughter.

"Got you!" he spoke, coming to stand by her side.

Pursing her lips, she bent down and scooped a ball of snow into her hand. Standing up, she pressed the cold lump onto his head. She chuckled as she watched him shake as he moved to brush the snow off his head. In the distance she could hear the sound of Emily and Anna's loud giggles as they came out of their hiding spot. From the look on their faces, they were enjoying the sight of their older sibling's private snowball fight.

"Not fair, Jack. You are on my side," she scolded, poking her tongue out at Jack.

"You do know that the two of you are supposed to be on the same team, right?" Anna pointed out, standing beside Emily who signed for Jack.

"It was friendly fire!" she shot back, watching as Emily continued to translate. "The teams were youngest against oldest. I got taken down by my own friend and teammate."

"I couldn't resist," Jack protested. "Besides, we didn't have much competition. You and Emily are hopeless shots, Anna."

She placed a hand on her hip and turned to watch as Emily helped to translate, filling in the signs that she wasn't aware of yet. She rolled her eyes as she watched Anna lean down to whisper something in Emily's ear, only for Emily to smile and nod in agreement. If she knew their younger siblings, it was likely something to do with her and Jack having romantic feelings for each other.

Opening her mouth, she was just about to speak up and remind the younger siblings that it was rude to whisper when she was hit by yet another snowball. She turned to scold Jack, but noticed that he, too had been hit by a snowball. Frowning, she turned around and watched as her mother and Mrs Frost scooped up a snowball each and took aim at Anna and Emily.

The snowball missed Emily, but managed to hit Anna on the shoulder. Crossing her arms over her chest, she turned to face her and Jack's mother.

"Come inside. We've made hot chocolate," Caroline Frost chuckled

Nodding, she watched as Anna and Emily led the way towards the back door of her family home. Out of the corner of her eye, she spied Jack as he lagged behind and scooped a handful of snow in his hands. Catching her gaze, he smirked at her and nodded in the direction of their siblings. She smiled and bent down to grab a handful of snow in her own hands. Together, her and Jack crept behind the younger duo and simultaneously dumped the snow over their heads.

"We won!" Jack spoke, holding his palm up for her to high-five.

She giggled, watching as Emily and Anna reacted to their final attack.

* * *

><p>A tap on the shoulder startled Jack. Raising his head, he found a note had been dropped on his open math textbook. He paused and turned to find a boy who he recognised to be Ryan, a member of the school's basketball team, standing by his desk and staring at him.<p>

He gulped. He could feel his heart racing as he looked down at the note. In the five weeks since he had spoken out loud in defense of Elsa, the bullying had only increased. Tyler and Violet had even begun to rely on other students to deliver abusive notes to him in class. Now they had a way to get to him, even when they weren't in the same class. He had hoped that the Christmas break would have helped the bullies forget that he had used his voice, but it hadn't.

Having heard his spoken voice had now given their bullies even more ways to tease him. It had quickly spread around the school that the 'Deaf boy' had spoken. Tyler and Violet had been quick to make fun of his accent. They had even gone so far as to create a series of poorly photoshopped pictures of him standing on the American Idol stage with 'Future American Idol' scrawled all over the image. The pictures had been printed and stashed in his locker, or had been delivered to him in class along with suggestions that he should consider a career in public speaking.

To make matters worse, the same notes and poorly edited images had been sent to Elsa. Only difference had been that the notes she had received implied that they were in a romantic relationship. The crass notes that she had been sent all dared to say that she would be forced to hear his voice in their rumoured intimate moments.

He felt a tap on the paper and looked up. Glancing to the front of the class, he saw Hans watching him intently. He shrugged at him and focused his attention on steadying his shaking hands. Slowly, he unfolded the paper. He hadn't seen Ryan hanging around Tyler during his time at the school. However, that didn't mean anything. Half the people who had delivered notes had been people that he'd not seen hanging with Tyler. Nervously, he looked down at the scribbled note in front of him.

'_Hey, is it true that you are dating the German girl, Elisa?' _

A sense of relief flooded over him as he realised that the note wasn't another of Tyler or Violet's work. Furrowing his brow, he turned to look at Ryan. He noted the way that the boy shifted uncomfortably on his feet.

'_Her name is Elsa and she is Norwegian. No, we are not dating. We're just friends.' _he wrote, handing the note back to Ryan.

He watched as Ryan turned to bend over an empty desk to scrawl a response before handing the note back to him.

'_So, she is single then? Do you know if she has a prom date?' _Ryan asked, shoving the note back on his desk.

He frowned. '_Yes, she is single. I don't think she has a prom date yet, why?'_

He slid the paper back to Ryan and watched as a small grin broke out on his face. He took a few seconds to bend down and write his response before handing it back.

'_Thanks. I'm going to ask her out then. She's hot,' _Ryan replied, giving him a thumbs up before heading back to his seat.

He scowled. Scrunching up the paper, he shoved it into his pocket. He turned in his seat to watch as Ryan settled back into his seat before reaching over to whisper to the kid who sat beside him. Groaning, he forced his attention back to his textbook. He could feel Hans looking at him with curiosity, but he ignored him.

However, try as he might, the interaction with Ryan clouded his mind. Something about the boy didn't sit well with him. On the surface he appeared fine with his neat brown hair, green eyes and a light splattering of freckles which covered his nose and cheeks. He was popular with the girls as well. The few times that he had seen Ryan in the cafeteria, he had been swarmed by girls. They fawned all over him like he was a member of a boyband and not an ordinary teen in a suburban high school. He could have any girl in the school and yet he had apparently decided that Elsa, a girl whose name and nationality he'd not even known, should be his date for the upcoming prom simply because she was hot.

The vibration of his watch broke him from his thoughts and alerted him to the start of the lunch period. Hastily, he slammed his books closed and stood to his feet. He paused briefly to wave goodbye to Hans before racing out the room.

* * *

><p>Elsa frowned and watched as Jack's eyes darted around the cafeteria. Something seemed to be off with him. He had been acting strange ever since she had met up with him at his locker. He had appeared to have stood even closer than normal to her and shot dirty looks at almost anyone who dared look their way.<p>

Leaning over, she tapped him on the shoulder. "What's wrong, Jack?" she asked, frowning. "Tell me, please."

"Nothing," Jack replied, shrugging her off as he turned to fix his attention on a table featuring members of the school basketball team and cheerleading squad.

Reaching across the table, she grabbed her ASL book and flicked through to find the sign that she needed. She turned to face Jack, but his focus was still fixed on the jock's table. Tapping his hand, she called his attention back to her.

"It's not the bullies is it?" she quizzed. "Why won't you tell me? I am your friend."

Jack shook his head. "I'm fine, Elsa. Trust me," he replied and bent his head down, diverting his gaze.

She sighed. Grabbing her drink, she took a sip and looked at him. It was obvious to her that something wasn't right with him. He was clearly not happy. However, there wasn't much she could do when he was clearly reluctant to tell her who, or what had made him upset.

She pulled out a piece of paper and scribbled a note. '_I don't know what is wrong. You clearly don't want to talk about it, but when you are ready, I am here for you.' _she stated, dropping the paper in front of him.

Standing to her feet, she gathered her and Jack's empty lunch wrappers in her arms. She made her way towards the nearest bin and dropped them in. Turning around, she was just about to return to the table when a boy she recognised from a few of her classes, approached her and cleared his throat.

"Elsa?" he asked, running a hand through his neat brown hair.

She nodded. Her eyes glanced over him as she tried to recall whether or not she knew his name. The basketball sweater he wore indicated that he played on the school team. However, to her disappointment, it gave no clue as to what his name was.

"My name is Ryan," the boy said as if reading her mind.

She blushed. "Sorry. I'm still learning people's names," she admitted, reaching out to shake his hand.

Ryan chuckled and flashed her a warm smile. "That's okay. I know that you are new. I was just wondering if you were planning on going to the prom? If so, I wanted to know if you wanted to be my date?" he asked.

Blushing, she wrapped her arms around her waist. She knew that the prom was coming up, but she hadn't put much thought into it. All she knew was that Anna had been pestering her to go. She claimed that it was yet another must-do in the American school experience.

"I...uh...haven't thought much about it, to be honest. I know that it's in March, but that's about it," she replied, smiling bashfully. "I really haven't stopped to think about whether I was going to go."

"So, is that a no?" Ryan prompted, staring at her.

She shook her head. She turned to look at Jack, who was glaring at her and Ryan. Biting her lip, she turned and focused her attention back on Ryan.

"It's not a no," she whispered. "It's just that I don't really know anything about you, other than your name and that you are in a few of my classes and that you play basketball. I just think that I should know a bit more than those few details before I agree to go to prom with someone."

Ryan nodded and smiled at her. "So, you want a date first," he chuckled, brushing a hand through his hair. "I can do that. How about I take you out this Saturday?"

She could feel her cheeks heating up. Turning to face Jack, she saw that he had shifted his attention to his phone. Frowning, she met Ryan's gaze. "I...uh..I'll have to think about it," she murmured. "Can I get back to you?"

She glanced over Ryan, taking in his features while he considered his reply. On the outside, he appeared to be a nice enough guy. He was definitely what one would consider attractive. He was apparently confident enough to approach girls on a whim and ask them out. Still, there was something about him that didn't sit right and she couldn't put her finger on it.

* * *

><p>Jack could feel the anger rising. He watched as Ryan stood up from his own table and casually sauntered over to Elsa, cornering her when she was on her own. He noticed the way Ryan looked at her and turned to shoot cocky looks back to his friends. All the while, he leaned over Elsa and looked at her as if she was some kind of trophy to be won.<p>

Worst of all was that Elsa seemed oblivious to it. Instead, she blushed and tilted her head as she listened to him and gave him her full attention. Sighing, he pulled out his phone and flicked through it. He pulled up a photo of him and Elsa from New Years Eve as he recalled the fun they'd had. Their families had celebrated the evening together along with her and Anna's grandparents, who had flown in from Norway to visit. As the end of the year had wound down, he had wrapped his arms around her shoulders and had smiled happily for the camera while Anna had snuck into the background of the photo to pull a funny face.

Raising his head, he looked at Elsa. He could feel his heart sink as he saw that she was still deep in conversation with Ryan. She was no doubt captivated by the guy with his so-called good looks, popularity and his hearing.

He sighed. He knew that he should be happy for Elsa. After all, she was beautiful and beautiful people deserved to be together. If she dated Ryan, it would make sense. They would be considered an attractive, popular couple. Ryan's position on the basketball team would mean that she wouldn't have to worry about bullies targeting her. She would become one of the elite crowd. It would also mean that she no longer had to carry a book on sign language around with her, or keep a supply of pen and paper on hand in order to hold a conversation.

Elsa didn't deserve to be burdened by someone like him. She was too good a person. Everything about her was seemingly perfect, from her intellect, beauty, caring nature, to the way that she gave her undivided attention to a person, making them feel like the most important person. Then there was the cute way she would laugh, covering her mouth with her hand in the most adorable manner.

He, on the other hand, was the guy who was always a little bit on the skinny side. He was the one with the weird silver-white hair that never sat quite right, no matter how hard he tried. He was the guy that had read Harry Potter countless times and who was happy to hang with his kid sister and act like a dork in order to gain a few laughs. He was the guy who required a series of modifications in his home, or for an interpreter to follow him around school just so that he could get an education. He was different and she deserved better.

Sighing, he stood up and pushed his chair back under the table. Grabbing his pen and paper, he purposefully avoided looking at Elsa as he brushed past her and fled the cafeteria.

* * *

><p>Elsa watched as Jack rushed out of the cafeteria. His head was down as he brushed past her and Ryan. He didn't even spare her a passing glance. She sighed. Now, it was obvious that he was upset and that whatever had him feeling that way involved her<p>

"Yeah, sure. I'll see you around, Elsa," Ryan replied, snapping her out of her thoughts.

She shook her head. In all her concern for Jack, she had completely forgotten that Ryan had asked her out. She turned her attention back to Ryan and nodded, flashing him a shy smile.

"Okay, see you later, Ryan," she replied, blushing slightly.

She made her way back to their abandoned table and scooped up her book and papers that Jack had left behind. She flicked through the book, hoping that he had left a message to explain his sudden departure, but he hadn't.

She sighed. She knew that she should be mad at Jack for blowing her off and for not even caring about her property, but she wasn't. Instead, she was hurt. She had thought that their friendship meant more to him. She had always thought that he knew that she cared deeply for him and that he, in turn, cared for her. Yet, in under an hour he had managed to make her question their relationship. Suddenly, she found herself wondering if she had seen things that hadn't been there.

Sniffing, she clutched her books to her chest and made her way out of the cafeteria. She made a mental note to try and find Jack after school.


	10. Chapter 10

Elsa paused. Her eyes skimmed around the cafeteria while she looked for a place to sit. All around her, students had settled at tables and were happily chatting with their friends. She, however, was alone and missing the comfort and companionship that was Jack.

She had tried in vain to catch up with Jack at the end of the previous day. However, to her disappointment he had already left. He had been sent home early due to illness. He had left no message for her and she had only found out that he had gone after she had approached his homeroom teacher.

Once she had arrived home, she had tried to contact him. She had sent him texts and private messages on Facebook and Skype, only to be ignored- despite evidence that he had been active online and had seen her messages. Frustrated, she had rung the Frost home and had spoken with Mrs Frost, who had told her that Jack was not feeling well and that he didn't wish to speak to anyone. Reluctantly, she had left a message with his mother and had asked her to tell him that she was worried and wanted to be there to support him. She had then hung up the phone and had tried to ignore the concern that she had felt.

She'd tried her best to focus that night, but her mind had been distracted by Jack. She'd attempted to distract herself with homework, but it had been useless. Her mind had been too caught up on him.

After a restless night, she had found herself waking earlier than normal and had tried to contact Jack, but she'd had no luck. In the end, she had given up and had gone about her daily routine. Besides, she had reasoned that she would see Jack at school.

No sooner had she arrived at school that morning, had the text come through. A simple message from Jack to let her know that he would not be at school that day. She had replied immediately. She had been eager to find out how he was and if he would be online to chat later that afternoon, but he had ignored her.

"Hey, Elsa," a voice called, snapping her out of her thoughts.

Blinking, she turned to find herself face to face with Ryan, who was standing in front of her with his lunch tray balanced on his hip.

"Are you okay?" he asked, his green eyes staring at her. "You look a bit lost."

She nodded, fixing a fake smile to her face. "I'm fine. It's just that my friend is absent and I have nowhere to sit," she replied.

"Hmm," Ryan murmured, flashing her a wide smile. "Well, it just so happens that we have a spare seat at my table. If you want, you can come sit with me? It will give us a chance to get to know each other better and then maybe you can do me the honour of being my prom date."

She blushed and shifted her packed lunch to her other hand. "S...sure," she stammered. "Lead the way."

She followed Ryan as he led her her to a table in the middle of the cafeteria. She could feel the eyes of fellow students upon her and blushed slightly. Ryan, however, remained oblivious to the attention. Her eyes glanced up to see Violet, who had stood from her seat and was blatantly staring at her and Ryan with a look of disgust on her face. Trembling, she shifted her gaze.

Her eyes fell on the table that Ryan had led her to and the students that populated it. A mixed group of girls and boys sat around the table, all of them looked like they had stepped straight off the pages of a teen fashion catalogue. She noted that some of them appeared to be in a relationship with one another, judging by the small acts of intimacy that she could see. Their bodies were connected, be it by a hand on the leg, or an arm draped casually around the waist. Blushing, she thought back to when Ryan had asked her to the prom. Her only thought had been that she didn't know him. She hadn't even considered the fact that if she were to accept his invite, he would expect to touch her and to wrap his arms around her, or to hold hands as he led her to the dancefloor.

Romance and dating was Anna's area of expertise. Her only experience with guys was limited to hugging her father or grandfather. There was the one time that she had inadvertently held hands with Jack, but that was innocent. Besides, she had failed to even notice that they had held hands which could only be attributed to the closeness of her and Jack's friendship and the need to show support under the circumstances.

"Hey, guys, this is Elsa," Ryan said, calling the table to attention as he pointed to her. "Elsa, this is the gang."

She smiled bashfully as the students at the table either nodded or waved at her. She sat down on an empty chair and slowly began to unwrap her lunch. She listened politely as a blonde girl pointed to each student and listed their name and sporting or social prowess. The students paused and raised their heads long enough to acknowledge their name before returning their attention to the discussion that they had been having, or their phone.

"So, you are from Norway?" Ryan asked, looking at her. "I had to look it up on a map. It must have been quite a change for you, moving to America."

She swallowed a bite of her sandwich and placed the remainder on the wrapper before looking at him. "Yes, it was a big change for me," she admitted, smiling shyly. "I still miss home, but there are also things that I like here in the U.S.A"

Ryan nodded and took a sip from his drink.

"Hey, aren't you friends with the Deaf kid? Like, how does that even work?" a large boy with dirty blonde hair asked, bluntly.

"I thought that they were dating. I heard it from someone, who heard it from someone else that Violet said they were dating," a girl, who had been introduced as Jess, said.

She frowned as her thoughts turned to Jack. Reaching into her pocket, she pulled out her phone to check for a text, but none had come through. Shaking her head, she slipped the phone back in her pocket and focused her attention on Ryan and his friends.

"I...err...well, Jack is Deaf and at first we just wrote notes on pieces of paper. That actually worked out well for me because I wasn't very confident speaking English," she began.

"But you speak English quite well. I can understand you and you seemingly can understand me?" another girl asked, running her fingers through her long brown hair.

She blushed. "I am getting more confident," she explained. "It was mostly when people talked too fast and I found it hard to keep up. I also had trouble with some of the slang words as well."

"So, what is the deal with you and the Deaf kid? You didn't finish telling us," the blonde boy blurted out, staring at her. "I feel sorry for him. He can't hear music, or watch movies. I'd be lost without my music and movies."

She flinched. She couldn't help feeling surprised at how little he seemed to know. However, there was something in his voice that told her that his questions, despite being blunt and ignorant, were genuine and he wasn't intending to appear rude."

"Jack, his name is Jack," she began, smiling. "We are friends. We met here at school a few months ago. We started talking using pen and paper to write notes, or we sent texts. Then I started to learn sign language and now I can hold a few conversations with him in sign language."

She paused and watched as the students at the table nodded. She smiled at them before continuing. "You don't need to feel sorry for him for being Deaf. It affects his hearing, but not anything else. He watches movies and TV with subtitles on. Some cinemas offer closed captioning on select screenings so he can still go to the movies. Jack and his other Deaf friends are still normal teens. They go shopping, play video games, play pranks on each other and hang out. He's as normal as anyone else- he just can't hear."

Ryan turned to her, placing a hand on her shoulder. "You will have to excuse John," he said, pointing to the blonde boy. "He's harmless. It's just that he doesn't always stop to think before he speaks. I talked to Jack. I wrote a note and he has that guy that is always with him and signs for him."

She nodded. "That's Hans, his interpreter," she explained. "He's nice. He looks after Jack. They get along well. He is quite protective of Jack."

"Yeah, Jack and you both seem to be on Tyler and Violet's wrong side," John said, shooting a glance back in the direction of the bullies.

A loud snort could be heard. "Tyler and Violet don't have a 'right' side. I hate them and their stupid friends. They are true evil," a redheaded girl stated, rolling her eyes. "I saw one of the 'American Idol' photo things they did. The ones that were poking fun of Jack and his speaking voice. It was just plain nasty if you ask me. I wanted to punch them."

"Calm down, Merida," Jess cut in, giggling. "Don't go getting too feisty. Besides, we all want to punch Violet and Tyler. You have to wait in line."

"I told you not to call me Merida," the redhead scowled.

She cocked her head to watch the exchange between the two girls. She had been certain that the redheaded girl had introduced herself as Lisa, but the other girl, Jess, had just called her Merida.

As if noticing her confusion, John spoke up. "Her name is Lisa," he said, pointing to the redhead. "We just call her Merida after the princess in the movie Brave. It's because of the red hair and the fact that she is feisty, sporty and independent, oh and she always reacts like this which makes it even more fun."

She giggled and raised her hand to cover her mouth. She watched as the friends settled back into their chairs and returned to their previous conversations, leaving her free to listen in. There was an ease in which they spoke to one another. It was obvious to her that they had a good rapport and they were all seemingly kind people, but something felt different to her. The things they talked about seemed foreign to her and were better suited to Anna's tastes with discussions flowing about sports, cars, fashion and celebrities.

She looked over at Ryan, who was happily engaged in a conversation about a basketball team and was discussing someone whom she assumed to be a play on the aforementioned team. She couldn't help noticing the nonchalant way in which he spoke, his eyes flicked around and took in their surroundings. It was a stark contrast to Jack, who had to give his full, undivided attention in order to read signs.

"Sorry, Elsa," Ryan chuckled, turning to face her. "I'm kind of ignoring you here. It is just that we can get a bit carried away with the sport talk. I should tell you that I am the most valuable player and captain of the school basketball team for the last two seasons. You are practically sitting with teen royalty here."

"Teen royalty and he has the ego to go with it," Lisa teased, rolling her eyes at Ryan.

She smiled. She wasn't quite sure how to react. In the brief time she had spent with Ryan, she had come to realise that he was pleasant enough and clearly passionate about his sports. Still, something felt different about him. It wasn't that Ryan and his friends were rude. It was just different.

All the times she had met Jack's friends, they had made sure that everyone felt included in the conversation. If Jack and Bunny got into one of their playful arguments then Sandy and Tia would intervene, or would sit with her and chuckle at the antics of the two boys. They made an effort to get to know people and to make them feel welcomed. Plus there was the comfort and familiarity of Jack to help ease her nerves.

Hanging with Jack was completely different than being with Ryan. Everything about Jack was relaxed and easygoing. He had a way of making those who cared to approach him feel at ease, whether it be by asking lots of questions, telling jokes, or simply pulling a face. Those who were lucky to know him could see that he was more than just a prankster. He was caring, loving, intelligent and family orientated. He doted on his mum and sister and lived to make those close to him happy, even if he looked like a lovable fool doing so.

She felt a nudge and turned to face Ryan, who had accidentally bumped her. His attention was focused on his phone's front-facing camera, which he was using to check his reflection. She watched as he smoothed his hair down before pressing the button to capture his image. His mouth was pulled in a tight smile and he looked serious. It was so unlike Jack, who would have poked his tongue out, or crossed his eyes at the last minute before loading the image to his Facebook page with a funny comment.

Sighing, she turned her head to glimpse at the table where she would normally be seated. Any other day and Jack would be beside her and they would be engaged in an animated conversation with topics ranging from the serious to the absurd. She didn't want to be rude to Ryan, who had kindly offered for her to join his table, but she missed Jack.

She dearly wished that he would respond to her and let her know what was going on. He had said that he was sick, but she wasn't entirely convinced. A small part of her couldn't help fearing that he was avoiding her for some reason.

* * *

><p>Jack frowned as he hit delete on yet another message from Elsa. It broke his heart having to delete her messages, but he couldn't continue to hold her back anymore. She deserved better than him, a better friend, a better friendship circle than what he could offer her and a better life.<p>

Placing the phone on the bedside table, he sighed and rolled over. Grabbing the blankets, he pulled them over his head and curled himself into a ball. He couldn't help feeling relieved that he had managed to convince his mum that he was sick. He'd managed to score three days off school and was hoping that she would allow him to skip the last day of the school week. If successful, it would give him six days without seeing Elsa. Hopefully, by that time she would have started to get used to him not being by her side.

He knew that she was confused. The messages that she was sending him told him that. He also knew that she mistakenly believed it to be her fault and thought that she had done something to offend him, but she would get over it. Time would heal any pain that she may feel. Besides, they were only going to go their separate ways once high school ended anyway. After all, few high school friendships, especially ones as new as theirs, lasted into adulthood. With any luck, Elsa would have spent the last few days sitting with Ryan and his friends. All of whom were a much more appropriate friendship group for her than him and his oddball friends from within the Deaf community.

Closing his eyes, he was just about to try and drift off to sleep again when he felt the impact of a cushion being thrown at his head. Groaning, he pushed the covers back and sat up. He let out a loud exhale and turned to find Tia and Bunny standing at the foot of his bed.

"What the hell, guys?" he asked. "I'm sick. You can't just do that to me. What are you even doing here anyway?"

"Your mum let us in. She said that you're not really sick. Well, she said that you weren't sick enough to prevent you from spending time in the backyard with Emily last night," Tia explained, taking a seat at the end of his bed. "Besides, we're not here for you. We're here for Elsa."

He gulped as he turned to face Bunny, watching as he took a seat on his desk chair. He knew that him and Bunny liked to fool around, but the stern expression on the Australian-born teen's face told him that today was not one of those days.

"What about Elsa?" he asked, frowning slightly.

"Mate, it's about how you have been treating her," Bunny began, pausing to share a brief look with Tia. "She's sent us messages and has told us how you were distant on Monday, even more so after some guy called Ryan spoke with her."

"We also know that she has been sending you messages on Facebook, Skype and Text, trying to get you to talk to her. You've been ignoring her Jack and she knows it. She is going out of her mind with worry. She is convinced that she has done something to offend you and to cause you to turn against her," Tia continued. "Jack, she is really, really hurt."

He shook his head. "It's for her own good," he explained, sighing. "I don't hate her and she hasn't done anything to offend me. It's just, we can't be friends anymore.

"Why not?" Bunny asked, cocking his eyebrow. "She's great. We all love her and she fits in really well with our group and don't you dare try and tell me that you don't care for her."

He groaned and shook his head. "I do. I do care for her. I care a LOT and that is exactly why I need to do this. I have to do what is right for her," he said, glumly.

He watched as Tia and Bunny shared a look. Bunny pulled a face and shrugged his shoulders, both seemed confused by his statement. Sighing, they dropped their gaze and turned to face him.

"Explain, Jack," Tia ordered, her face stern. "You have us all confused here. We all thought that you liked Elsa. Hell, we even had a bet on as to when the two of you would realise that you had feelings for each other and get together."

"Well, they will never get together if Jack insists on acting like a jerk," Bunny added. "Clearly we were wrong. He doesn't care about Elsa. He never did. Not if he could ignore her, giving her no reason for his strange behaviour and purposely avoid her. I mean, she was left with no choice but to break down and contact us. Saddest thing is, despite all this crap, Elsa still cares about you Jack. I don't know, maybe you're right to avoid her. I mean, she may not be the sharpest tool in the shed. Not if she's continuing to contact you."

He glared at Bunny. Reaching his arm out, he pulled the stuffed toy from the corner of his bed and flung it at him, hitting him on the chest. He waited until Bunny's eyes were on him before continuing. "Don't you dare suggest that Elsa is dumb," he threatened. "She is the smartest, most beautiful, kindest, girl, woman that you or anyone else could ever hope to meet. She is perfect."

Bunny lowered his gaze and stared into his eyes. "Oh yeah? Well then, do tell me why you are treating her like you are? If she is so beautiful, so intelligent, so kind and so perfect- like you claim her to be, then why the hell are you ignoring her? Making her feel like she has done something awful," he asked. "She was crying when she skyped Tia last night, Jack. She left her computer briefly to get a drink and her sister jumped on to tell us that Elsa was in tears. Mate, you are hurting her, a lot."

He felt the familiar lump rise in his throat again. He had seen Elsa cry before, but those times had always been because of the actions of Violet and Tyler. Everytime he'd seen her cry, he'd felt his heart break. It hurt to see her pale face redden as the tears rolled down her face. Seeing Elsa cry was awful and each time he had wanted nothing more than to wrap her in his arms and protect her.

He shook his head as he tried to shake the image of Elsa crying from his mind. Worst still, was the knowledge that this time the tears were because of him.

"It's because I love her, okay," he confessed. "There, I said it. I am head-over-heels in love with her. It's because I love her that I have to let her go. She deserves so much better than what I have to offer her."

He let out a deep sigh and watched as Tia and Bunny smirked before reaching out to high-five each other.

"Explain," Bunny ordered.

Pinching the bridge of his nose, he looked up. "Guys, she has already had to adapt because of me. I mean, she's learning sign language. She has to carry a book and pens and paper with her in order to communicate with me, with us. We live this way. Being Deaf is all we've known. Elsa doesn't. She has her hearing. She can hear things like laughter and voices. If she were to date me, to consider a life with me then it would be different. She would have to live in a home where the doorbell is different, the phones, alarm clocks, smoke alarms- all different. She would have to deal with people staring at her when she talked with me. She would have to deal with only being able to go to select viewings at the movies. If she wanted children then she would have to teach them to sign. I am, we are, limited. I will never hear her laugh. I will never hear her voice, or the voice of any children. Would you want her to have that life? Because I don't. I love her too much," he explained, bowing his head.

He felt the mattress shift as Tia shuffled closer. Moments later, her hand reached to lightly grip his chin as she tilted his head to look at her. "With all due respect, Jack," she began, smiling. "But it is not your place to decide what is right for Elsa's life, or what she wants from it. It's hers. I know that you're not feeling well and that you feel like you are not good enough for her, but she likes you. She truly cares for you and she fits in well with us. We all love her. She's perfect for you."

"Yeah and mate, you're missing the point. If Elsa didn't care about you. If she didn't want to spend time with you and didn't want to be in your life than she would not bother learning sign language. She would not be giving up her free time in her senior year to learn to communicate with you and with us," Bunny added, grinning. "Mate, you know that I love to poke fun at you. However, I am not joking when I tell you that I truly believe she likes you, as in more than a friend. You just need to give her a chance. I think you're stressing for nothing. Don't go pushing away a girl like Elsa because of your confidence. You deserve to be happy and so does she."

Blushing, he sniffed away a tear. "You really think that she likes me?" he asked.

Bunny leaned over and swatted him across the head. "Mate, I know that she likes you. In fact, I will bet on my life that she feels the same way about you."

"Just tell her, Jack," Tia added, beaming at him. "Don't deny her, or yourself, the chance at happiness."

* * *

><p>The tears fell down Elsa's face, leaving noticeable tear stains. She had given up trying to stop them falling long ago. As a result, a small pile of tissues lay scrunched in the nearest wastepaper bin.<p>

The last few days had been horrible for her. Jack had been absent for school for the past three days and all attempts to contact him had gone unanswered. She had rung his mother the night before to try and enquire him and while Mrs Frost had been sympathetic to her plea, she had also stressed that she couldn't promise anything. Instead, she had said that Jack had not discussed anything with her and that he had simply told her he was sick.

In desperation, she had reached out to Bunny and Tia. She had spoken to Tia online and had ended up sobbing as she told her how hurt and confused she was. She had asked them if they could give any insight into Jack's behaviour, maybe find out what it was that she had done to cause him to turn on her. To her relief, the duo had agreed to help and had promised to go visit Jack and try and suss out what was going on before reporting back to her. She had asked them to tell him that she missed him and that lunch wasn't the same.

She had continued to eat lunch with Ryan and his friends at their table. The group always greeted her with a warm smile, but she couldn't help feeling like something was lacking. She felt like an intruder at their table and Ryan, nice as he was, just couldn't fill the emptiness that she felt without Jack. On the surface, he was a lovely guy. He was attractive, outgoing, active, but he lacked the joy for life that Jack had. She had found that Ryan would talk to her and would ask her questions about herself, only to cut her off midway and resume talking about himself. He would list his skills and possessions as if they were what defined him. She couldn't help feeling like he was playing the role of the person he thought people wanted him to be, rather than focusing on the person that he really was.

She knew that Ryan was clearly interested in her. He had made no secret of his desire to take her on a date and to prom, but he was dull. His hair was too perfect and he cared far too much about his appearance and social popularity for her liking. There was no laughter with him like there was with Jack. There was no lopsided grin which lit up his face, no bright blue eyes which shined when he spoke. Heck, even his hair was too formal for her. It was always so perfectly styled, unlike Jack's tousled silver-white hair. All she knew, was that she didn't want to go to prom with Ryan. She was certain that he would make a fine prom date, just not for her.

A knock on her door forced her to snap out of her thoughts. Straightening up, she called for the person to enter.

"Elsa" Anna called, crossing the room with two mugs of hot chocolate. "Are you okay?"

She shrugged and reached to take a mug from Anna. "Define okay," she muttered, taking a sip of the hot drink.

She watched as her sister frowned and moved to sit beside her on the bed. "Jack still ignoring you?" she asked, cursing loudly as a drop of her drink spilled onto her top.

She nodded. "I've tried everything. I even messaged Bunny and Tia and asked them for any suggestions. It's all been useless. He refuses to answer me and I can't handle it. I don't know what I did to make him like this, to make him hate me," she sobbed.

"El, he doesn't hate you," Anna murmured, reaching down to squeeze her leg. "I don't know what his deal is, but I do know that he doesn't hate you."

She sniffed as she choked back a tear. "Well, he's sure not acting like he likes me is he? He won't tell me anything. I have no freaking idea what I've done and don't you dare try and tell me that it's got nothing to do with me. I know that he's talked to Tia, Bunny and Sandy like normal. I've seen his posts on Facebook and I've heard from Tia that he's been acting like normal. All I know is that he was quiet on Monday and then he left when I got caught talking to Ryan at lunch," she protested.

"Didn't you say he stormed out and was glaring at you when you were talking to Ryan on Monday?" Anna asked, placing her empty mug down on the bedside table.

She nodded. "Yeah, he did. It was so weird, the only time I've seen him look that angry was when Violet pushed me over all those weeks ago, you know when he spoke?" she said.

Anna turned on her spot and eagerly gripped her arm while a wide grin spread across her face. "Oh my god, oh my god. I knew it! I freaking knew it!" she shrieked.

She groaned. "Firstly, Anna, can you loosen your grip please? It's kind of tight," she began, furrowing her brows. "Secondly, you knew what exactly?"

Anna shook her head before relaxing her grip on her arm. "Jack is jealous," she explained. "He's not mad at you. He's jealous of Ryan."

Her eyes widened and she shook her head. "Anna, that's preposterous," she protested. "I didn't even know Ryan's name until Monday. We were just talking. He asked me to prom and then Jack left without even knowing what we were talking about."

"But it makes sense! The way he left, the dirty looks that you said he was giving. I'm willing to bet my last dollar that he was glaring at Ryan, not you," Anna countered, crossing her arms. "Ryan's the cutie with the brown hair, isn't he?"

She nodded and brought her legs up, hugging them to her chest.

"I think Jack felt threatened," Anna continued. "Ever since you first met, it has been you and him- you're close. Suddenly, this guy, Ryan, comes on the scene and he's popular, good-looking and he wants you to go to prom with him. I think that Jack is scared that he's going to lose you to Ryan. I think in some weird way he's trying to lessen the potential hurt to him by putting up barriers and pushing you away."

"But how could he know that Ryan asked me to prom? Or my thoughts on Ryan if he's not talking to me," she asked. "More to the point, why does he think that he's going to lose me to him, or to anyone? He's like my best friend in this country."

Anna groaned and leaned back against the headboard of the bed. "Elsa, do you like Ryan? As in like, like him? Do you fancy him?" she asked. "Answer me truthfully."

She shook her head. "He's nice, but he's...he's…" she stammered.

"He's what, Elsa?" Anna probed. "He's not Jack."

She sighed. "Ryan is a really nice guy and he's obviously handsome, but he's not fun like Jack is. He doesn't have the same enthusiasm for life. It's like he's too caught up in how he looks and how he appears to other people. He seems to think that he needs to impress me by being a good sports player, or driving a nice car and having expensive products- all superficial stuff," she explained. "He is friendly and his friends are nice enough. It's just that he's not Jack and it's not the same as being with Jack, or Bunny, Tia and Sandy."

Anna nodded. "What makes Jack better than Ryan? In your opinion," she asked softly.

She looked at her and raised her eyebrow. "Jack is...he's Jack," she said, pausing to think. "He is kind, caring, funny. He puts everyone else first and he's not afraid to look silly, not if it will make someone else feel better. When you talk to him, he really pays attention and it's not just because he has too in order to know what you are saying, but because he truly cares. I know that I am safe with him and he will always do what he can to protect me and I will protect him. He's...he's…"

"Your best friend?" Anna suggested, dropping her head to rest on her shoulder. "He's also got that dopey looking grin that he does when he wants to get out of trouble with you. You fall for it every time."

She groaned. "Oh, I know. It's those eyes of his, they are the most beautiful shade of blue and that grin and his hair. I don't get how it is that his hair always looks like he's just woken up, despite the fact that I've seen him brush it," she gushed. "I just...I...I-"

"You love him?" Anna whispered, her voice barely audible.

"I do," she admitted, her eyes widening as she realised what she had just said.

"Anna," she began, turning to look at the younger girl. "What did I do?"

Anna chuckled, reaching over, she wrapped her arms around her in a hug. "You just admitted that you love Jack, which to be honest, was pretty much obvious. I mean, Emily is nine and even she called it," she said.

"I can't love him, Anna. I mean, we are friends," she protested. "You're the one who has knowledge about these things. I..I'm just, I'm scared."

Anna smiled and tightened her embrace. "Don't be scared, Elsa. He loves you. I really think all this behaviour is because he's been dealing with his own feelings for you and the fear of rejection, coupled with slight jealousy over Ryan-"

The sound of a text message coming through, interrupted Anna. Frowning, she shuffled out of her sister's grip and reached over to grab the screen. She swiped at the screen and felt her heart rate rise as she saw the message from Tia.

Biting her lip, she read the message. She read how Tia and Bunny had approached Jack and had confronted him about his behaviour towards her, only for him to break down and admit that he was in love with her. Apparently, he feared that she couldn't love him in return because of him being Deaf and in order to cope with his insecurities and the fear of rejection, he had taken to distancing himself from her.

Blushing, she handed the phone to Anna and let her read Tia's text. She could feel herself getting giddy as the words she had read sunk in. She loved Jack. He wasn't just her best friend, he was the guy that she had fallen in love with and he loved her.

"So, what does this mean?" Anna asked, smiling widely. "Asides from the fact that you two really took your sweet time admitting your feelings for each other."

She pushed herself off her bed and flung open her wardrobe, pulling out her coat. "It means," she said, slipping on her shoes. "That I need to go to Jack."


	11. Chapter 11

Elsa could feel the adrenaline pumping through her veins as she raced down the stairs, taking two at at a time until she reached the first floor of her home.

Bursting into the lounge room, she found her mother curled up on the couch and sipping a cup of coffee while she flicked through a magazine.

"Mum," she called, crossing the room to stand in front of her. "Can you please take me to see Jack?"

She watched as her mum frowned before placing the coffee cup on the nearby table. Her eyes flicked to the clock on the wall. "Elsa! It's almost 5pm," she pointed out. "I am having one last break before I make a start on dinner. I am not taking you to see Jack at this time. Besides, your father is due home in the next half hour."

She paused, unsure of what to say to persuade her mum to take her. Her eyes flicked to Anna, who had raced into the room and was frantically pulling her own coat on.

"Please, Mum," she whispered, wringing her hands. "It's really important. I have to go see Jack. I've not seen him since Monday and there has been a really big misunderstanding which I need to sort out."

"Can't it wait until tomorrow?" her mum asked, furrowing her brows as she looked at her.

She shook her head. She opened her mouth to speak, only to be cut off by Anna, who had come to stand beside her with their mum's purse and car keys in hand.

"It really can't wait, Mum," Anna explained, wrapping her arm around her waist. "Trust me. This is really, really, really important. Also, it needs to be done before Elsa loses all of her confidence."

Her mother sighed and swallowed the last of her coffee. "Let me guess. Neither of you are going to leave me alone until I give in, are you?" she quipped.

She grinned and shot a knowing look at Anna. She knew that her mum was caving in to their pleas.

"Nope. It really is in everyone's best interest for you to say yes," Anna stated. "Also, if you say yes it will make you the best mum ever."

She watched as her mother stood to her feet and let out a loud exhale. "Anna, ring your father and let him know that we will be late and I will pick us something to eat on the way home," she ordered. "Elsa, ring Caroline and let her know that we are on our way. I expect that we will get a full explanation once we get to the Frost home."

* * *

><p>Jack could feel the anxiety rising as he tore around his bedroom. He furiously shoved all dirty clothes out of sight. Bunny and Tia had only just left when his mum had burst in to announce that Elsa was on her way over for an impromptu visit.<p>

Pausing in front of the mirror, he frowned. His eyes settled on the dirty pyjama pants that he had worn for the last three days and he groaned. Flinging open his wardrobe, he pulled out a pair of clean trackpants along with some fresh underwear and a t-shirt. Lifting his arm, he took a whiff. To his relief, he smelled somewhat decent which he could only put down to his decision to shower earlier in the day. He chucked the clothes on and dug in his chest of drawers until he found a can of deodorant and a hairbrush.

Brushing his hair, he couldn't help think that there was something suspicious in the the way Bunny and Tia had behaved. He knew that they had decided to check up on him on behalf of Elsa, but there was still something off in the way they had been so quick to excuse themselves after he had confessed his feelings. Tia had pulled out her phone and had sent a text to an unnamed contact. She'd shown the text to Bunny and they had exchanged a knowing look before they had stood to their feet and had announced that they had to leave.

Moments later, he'd received the news that Elsa was visiting, which led him to believe that Tia had sent the text to Elsa. He didn't mind the idea of Elsa visiting. In fact, he finally felt ready to face her and possibly own up to his feelings. However, he couldn't deny that having come clean about his feelings had changed the way he approached her visit.

In the past, he would have felt fine with what he was wearing. In fact, he likely would have remained in the dirty and smelly pyjamas that Bunny and Tia had caught him in, but not anymore. Having owned up to the truth of his feelings for Elsa, he suddenly felt that he needed to look better, more presentable for her. He wanted to impress her.

The doorbell receiver flashed, letting him know that someone had rung the doorbell. Stepping over to the window, he peered out. His eyes fell on the Andersen car parked in front of the house.

Gulping, he grabbed his iPad and left his room. He could feel his heart beating as he walked towards the living room.

Rounding the corner, he saw Elsa. She was standing bashfully beside her mother, who was deep in conversation with his mum. Anna and Emily stood behind her, a knowing smile on both of their faces. Suddenly, he could feel himself growing nervous.

"Elsa, hi," he spoke, giving her a shy smile.

He watched as she bit her lip. Her eyes darted between him and her sister. Then, to his dismay, she took a step back. Her mouth opened, but she soon closed it. He felt his heart sinking. The last time he had seen her this nervous around him was on the day they had first met. That had been the same day that they both feared that the other had been sent to hurt them.

"Elsa," he spoke, taking a step towards her. "Please."

Lifting her head, she looked at him. Her mouth opened as she took a deep breath and signed to him. "Can we talk?" she asked. "Alone?"

He nodded and beckoned her to follow him. Pausing at the door, he turned to let his mum know that they would be in his room and that the door would be left open, as per the agreed upon rules.

* * *

><p>Elsa could feel her confidence slipping away at a rapid pace.<p>

When she had first approached her mum about visiting Jack, she had been so sure about herself. She had known exactly what needed to be said. She had known that she needed to tell him that she was aware of his feelings for her. She had known that she had to reassure him that his feelings for her were not in vain and that he didn't need to fear rejection from her.

However, now that she was sitting on his bed with her back resting against his headboard and her ASL book by her side, she wasn't as sure of herself. Jack had taken the seat opposite her on the bed. The iPad laid open to the note application app between them. Glancing up, she noted that he was rubbing his hand over the back of his neck which was a nervous habit of his.

She bit her lip, suddenly unsure about what to say. A part of her wanted to bring up the fact that he had hurt her. She wanted him to know how his silence had left her feeling miserable and fearing that she had upset him. Another part of her wanted to jump straight to the point and tell him that she knew that he had admitted to having feelings for her. She wanted to tell him that she realised it was his own insecurities that had seen him try and push her away from him. However, she felt that she needed to hear it from him and in doing so she needed to be honest with him about her own feelings.

"Elsa," Jack spoke. "I am so, so, sorry."

She blinked back the tears that threatened to fall and looked at him, catching his gaze. "You hurt me," she replied and paused to flip through her book until she found the next sign that she needed. "I thought that I had offended you."

Jack sighed and shook his head. "No," he admitted. "You could never hurt me. I was a jerk. I'm sorry."

"So, what happened?" she asked. "To make you leave and ignore me for so long. What did I do?"

Jack groaned and shifted so that he was leaning against the wall. "It's a long story," he replied.

Nodding, she leaned down and flicked through her book before turning to face him. "Please tell me, Jack," she pleaded. "I think that I have the right to know."

Jack grabbed the iPad and carefully rested it on his lap. "It may be easier for me to type," he spoke. "We don't have a lot of time and I don't feel comfortable speaking it because of nosy sisters. You are right though, I do owe you an explanation."

She nodded. She watched as Jack bent his head down to type on the touch-screen keyboard, a faint blush dusted his cheeks.

* * *

><p>Blushing furiously, Jack handed the iPad to Elsa. He could feel his heart pounding as she tilted the screen to read what he had typed. He had decided to stick to key points and explain how Ryan had approached him on Monday before lunch and had got her name and nationality wrong before he'd asked if they were dating. He then explained how Ryan had stated that he wanted to ask her to the prom simply because she was hot.<p>

He watched as she bent her head over the screen and typed a reply. '_So, were all these days off because Ryan asked me to prom?' _she asked.

'_Kind of,' _he replied. '_There is more to it though.'_

He watched as Elsa balanced the iPad on her lap before pulling out her phone and tapping to bring up a message. Leaning down, she typed her response. '_Is this true?' _she asked.

He gulped as he read through the message. As expected, it had been from Tia and had relayed the fact that he liked her and had taken the days off because he feared that she couldn't return his feelings. Blushing, he handed the phone to her and took the iPad. Bending down, he typed his reply. '_Yes, it is true. I am in love with you.' _he confessed. '_I am sorry. I know that you probably hate me now. I know that you are going to prom with Ryan and I'm not good enough for you.'_

Sniffing, he turned his head. A part of him was glad that the truth was finally out and that Elsa now knew he liked her. The other part of him was terrified and feared the reaction that was bound to come. Especially since she'd had the last few days to sit with Ryan.

He felt Elsa's hand reach out to softly tap at his hand. Reluctantly, he turned to face her. He forced himself to swallow the lump that had formed in his throat. Softly, she stroked his hands before pulling back to sign.

"Jack," Elsa began, smiling. "I'm not going to prom with Ryan. He is nice, but he is not who I want to go to prom with."

Cocking his head, he looked at her. "You don't? Why not? He's popular and all the girls like him," he pointed out.

She shook her head and smiled shyly. "He's not you," she replied.

He could feel his cheeks heating up. His eyes flicked between Elsa and the ASL book which lay open to her side. He contemplated asking her to repeat herself, maybe even type the message on the iPad so that he could be certain that she had signed the correct words.

"Me?" he repeated, staring at her. "You want to go with me?

* * *

><p>Elsa nodded, shyly. She could feel her cheeks heating up as her eyes flicked between Jack's own eyes and his lips.<p>

Glancing down, she flicked through her ASL book and double checked the sign that she needed before meeting his gaze. "I'm in love with you, Jack," she admitted.

She watched his eyes widened and his mouth pulled into the lopsided grin that she had come to know and love. Shuffling closer, she reached her hand out to lightly cup his chin. She could feel her heart pounding as she leaned in to press a soft kiss to his lips.

Breaking apart, she gasped as the realisation of what she had done hit her. Hastily, she climbed off the bed as she mentally scolded herself. Never in her life, had she been so bold and now she had gone and kissed Jack. She could feel the panic rising. Sure, he had admitted to being in love with her, but it was still possible that she had kissed him far too soon. After all, they had a lot of things which they still needed to discuss. Blushing, she turned to grab her book from the bed.

Turning around, she stood up straight and found herself face to face with Jack, a tinge of blush dotted his cheeks.

"Don't go," he spoke and reached for her.

She gulped. Biting her lip, she watched as Jack's hand moved to grab hers. His spare hand grabbed her book and placed it back on the bed. He then snaked the spare arm around her waist and pulled her closer to him. She was certain that he could feel her heart racing. Slowly, he leaned in and kissed her.

Instinctively, she moved to wrap her arms around his neck. She moved one hand to rest against the back of his head and deepened the kiss. She trembled slightly when Jack tightened his grip on her and pressed his body even closer to his.

The sound of high-pitched giggles coming from the door caused her to break the kiss. Shifting her head, she spotted her sister and Emily standing with their hands on their hips as they looked at them. Blushing, Jack dropped his arms from her waist and moved to stand beside her as Anna and Emily entered the room.

"Called it," Anna smirked, watching as Emily signed for Jack. "I knew that you'd end up making out."

"What do you want?" Jack spoke, running a hand through his tousled hair.

"Mum said to let you know that the Andersen's are staying for dinner," Emily replied. "We are having Chinese take out. She asked that you come and check the menu in case there is anything special that you want to order."

She shook her head. A wide smile crossed her face as she watched her sister and Emily playfully push each other in their rush to leave the room. She knew that by the time her and Jack made it to the lounge room that their parent's would know about the kiss, but she didn't care.

She felt Jack reach down to tap her arm as he shifted to stand in front of her. "So, will you go to prom with me?" he asked, furrowing his brow.

She nodded, enthusiastically. "I'd love to," she beamed and reached over to hug him.

* * *

><p>Jack lay on his back. The covers were pulled tightly around him as he reflected on the events of the afternoon and evening.<p>

As he'd expected, Emily and Anna had been quick to inform their respective parents that they had walked in on him and Elsa kissing. However, he'd not felt embarrassed. To his surprise, both his mum and Elsa's parents had been supportive and had claimed that they had long suspected that he and Elsa had feelings for each other.

The Andersen's had stayed until 9pm which had given him and Elsa plenty of times to talk. After dinner, they had retreated to his room where Elsa had filled him in on the events of the last few days. He had felt a pang of jealousy when she had mentioned spending time at Ryan's table, until she had gone on to explain that she had felt miserable without him and had discovered that Ryan and her were two different people.

Rolling over, he reached for the alarm and checked that he had set it in time for school. His mother had already emailed Hans to let him know that he would be attending for the last day of the school week. Especially, as he had seemingly made a miraculous recovery after in time for Elsa to visit.

Grinning, he ran his fingers over his lips. He couldn't help smiling when he remembered how Elsa had kissed him, not once, but twice. He shook his head. He could scarcely believe that in a matter of hours, he had gone from believing it was best to keep his distance from her, to holding her in his arms and kissing her. He had even asked her to their school prom, an event that had held no interest to him, until now.

Suddenly, a bright light filled the room and alerted him to his new text message. Reaching over, he swiped at the screen. He felt his smile widening when he saw that it was Elsa, telling him to check his bedside drawer and that she would see him tomorrow morning.

He shuffled into a sitting position and flicked the bedside light on. Pulling open the drawer, his eyes fell on a folded piece of paper with his name written on in Elsa's neat handwriting. Eagerly, he pulled out the paper and unfolded it to read the message that she had left for him.

_'Jack,_

_You may feel that you are not good enough for me, but I know for a fact that that is not true. The truth is that you are perfect for me and you mean more to me than you can ever know. ~ Elsa'_

He sighed. He knew that he still had to admit the true extent of his low confidence to Elsa. Despite her revelation that she liked him as much as he liked her, there was still the fact that he feared that she wouldn't want to be with him long term. Not with the changes that it would mean for her life. Still, he knew that it was only the beginning which gave him plenty of time, he hoped, to broach the subject with her.

Tonight, he wanted to focus on the positive which was that someone as perfect as Elsa, could be in love with him.

* * *

><p>Elsa grinned as Anna pulled the bedroom door closed behind her. Her sister had just spent the last thirty minutes pleading with her to reveal the details about her and Jack's kiss. However, her attempts had been thwarted when their mother had burst in and ordered them to go to bed.<p>

Lying down, she raised her fingers to her lips. Her mind continued to replay the events of the last few hours and the changes that had come from them.

To her delight, the rest of the night had been a pleasant affair. The Andersens had shared dinner with the Frosts before her and Jack had excused themselves to talk some more. They had ignored the kissy faces that their sisters had made and had retreated to his bedroom where they had gone over the events of the last few days.

She had admitted to him that it had been her time spent with Ryan and his friends that had helped her to realise the true extent of her feelings for Jack. She had revealed how, despite being a lovely guy, Ryan had left her feeling bored and missing Jack. She had sensed that Jack had felt a pang of jealousy, but had hoped that he trusted her when she had told him that Ryan could not compare to him. After all, he was the guy that she had fallen in love with.

Both her and Jack had realised that thing had changed for him. The dynamic in their friendship had shifted with the admittal of romantic feelings and while they had both enjoyed the kisses that they had shared, they also wanted to take care to ensure that the friendship that they had built would not be lost in the excitement of their blossoming romance. Together, they had decided to keep the nature of their new relationship a secret. They had decided to only let their parents and sisters, as well as Bunny and Tia, know about the change. They both felt that it was for the best until they got used to the new direction in which they were headed.

To her relief, her parents had been supportive. Her mother had revealed on the ride home that her and Caroline Frost had long suspected that her and Jack had feelings for each other. Although, she had warned her that friend or not, her father still intended to act as the protective father and give Jack 'the speech' prior to letting him whisk her away to the prom. He had claimed that it was one of the perks of fatherhood.

She shut her eyes. She still couldn't believe that she was going to the prom. In the last few weeks she had heard so much about it and had seen the posters which decorated the school. However, she had never held much interest in it. Jack had never indicated that he intended to go and she knew that there was no way she wanted to attend without him. He was, after all, her first and best friend in America. However, all that had changed and he was now the boy she loved and her prom date.

Yawning, she rolled onto her side and pulled the blankets tighter around her. She felt like a weight had been lifted from her shoulders, one that she had not realised she'd been carrying. The weight had only been lifted once she had been honest with herself and with Jack.

* * *

><p><strong>ANote- Ahh, so they finally did it, they kissed. They've still haven't got everything sorted and in the next chapter we'll learn a bit more about how they are handling the shift in their relationship. Jack's confidence issues are still there and in time they will be revealed to Elsa, giving her the chance to respond to them.**

**I'd like to do a shout out to Zulka who has recently started posting two of her own Jelsa stories. Zulka is someone who has been an incredible help to me with this story, so if you're looking for some new stories to read, check out her profile :).**


	12. Chapter 12

Elsa sighed as she settled into the warm, bubble bath. Her mind instantly travelled over the changes that had occurred over the last few weeks.

A month had passed since she and Jack had admitted their feelings for each other. In that time, they had stayed true to their word and had taken things slowly. Neither of them had wanted to risk jinxing their friendship, or new relationship by rushing things.

Their new status had remained unknown by their classmates. They had refrained from exhibiting any behaviour that had hinted at a more intimate relationship while on school grounds. They had continued to sit together as normal in the cafeteria. After school, they would meet up and would walk to her house, or would catch a ride with Mrs Frost and Emily. Asides from that, there had been no sign that the two of them were anything more than good friends. There had been no hand-holding, no declaration of love on stationery and no stolen kisses while on school grounds. All people had known was that the two of them had remained quiet on the topic of prom.

She had found that she had been the focus of curious glances and intrigue for a few days after word had got out that she had declined Ryan's invitation to be his prom date. He was a popular basketball star and was considered to be amongst the most eligible of students within the school. Many girls had confessed to having a crush on him. The fact that she, the newcomer, had turned him down had sent shockwaves amongst the student population. She had been the subject of gossip and speculation for a few days until it had settled down.

She had wasted no time in contacting Ryan. She had approached him the day after she had shared her first kiss with Jack. After a moments consideration, she had told him that while she had appreciated his offer, she had decided to decline in favour of spending the evening with her best friend. To his honour, Ryan had accepted her refusal with grace and had simply wished her a good evening.

After speaking with Ryan, her and Jack had gone to purchase their prom tickets. Jack had wanted to spring for the cost of both tickets. She had initially wanted to decline his offer, knowing that the Frosts did not have a lot of money, but she had caved in after a word from her mother. Instead, she had allowed him. The smile on his face after he'd had the tickets in his hands had been worth it. He had claimed that it had made him feel even more like her boyfriend.

They had waited until after school to have their photo taken with the tickets. Anna had invited herself to the Frosts that afternoon to spend time with Emily and had taken their photo before she had disappeared to allow Elsa to settle down for her regular ASL lesson.

Shaking her head, she pulled the plug and allowed the water to disappear down the drain. Looking in the mirror, she couldn't help noticing the smile that graced her face. It was the same smile that had settled on her face ever since her and Jack had taken the next step in their relationship.

It still felt surreal to her that she was in a relationship with Jack. Although, she couldn't deny that she felt comfortable being with him. It felt natural for her to hold his hand and to sit with his arm around her waist at home. The kisses that they had shared felt nice as well. She had thought that it would feel weird, to kiss her best friend, but it hadn't. It had felt like it was meant to be.

* * *

><p>Jack groaned. He watched as the sales assistant laid out yet another possible outfit for him.<p>

It wasn't even midday and already he regretted agreeing to go shopping for a prom outfit with his mother. His mother had raised the idea the night before and had told him that she intended to take him to check out suits and shoes. He had simply nodded in approval, his mind had been preoccupied with visions of enjoying his usual Saturday sleep in and walking mid-morning to enjoy a leisurely breakfast. He had anticipated that it would simply involve heading into a shop, pulling a suit off the rack and purchasing it.

To his dismay, his mother had had a completely different idea. She had burst into his room and had shook him awake at 7am. She had given him exactly one hour to get dressed, fed and to meet her in the car.

Once in the car, she had driven him to a suit shop in a neighbouring suburb and had forced him to try on a selection of suits. Every suit he had tried, had been wrong in his mother's opinion. She had claimed them to be unsuitable before she had dragged him to a second formal wear shop.

By the time they had arrived at the third store, he'd had enough. He had tried on multiple suits and had been poked and prodded so many times by assistants with tape measures, as well as his own mother and had felt ready to give up. He had really thought that suit shopping would have been a case of walk in, try on a suit and find that it either fit, or didn't. However, he had been wrong and had discovered that there were a few factors to consider when buying a suit.

Not only was price a factor in the suit he would wear, but also colour. He had been surprised to learn that there was not just black and grey, but the shades of grey varied. The same went with the white dress shirt that he would wear. Asides from the colour of suit, he had to consider the cut of the suit, the number of buttons that would be on the jacket and whether to go for a waistcoat and jacket combination, or just the dress shirt and jacket. Once he had selected the suit, he had to find the dress shoes to match. With each passing minute, he had come to realise why many men appeared reluctant to attend formal events.

"That's it. I am just going in my jeans and a t-shirt," he groaned, furrowing his brows as his mother turned away yet another possible suit.

"Oh no you are not," his mother replied, shaking her finger in his face. "No way in hell am I letting my first-born go to his senior prom, with his very first girlfriend, in jeans and a tattered t-shirt. Besides, you are going to want to look nice for Elsa."

He raised his eyebrow. Ignoring him, his mother turned and selected two suits from the rack that the sales assistant had dragged out. His hand reached to tug at the hem of his prized Batman t-shirt and he noted that a small tear had appeared at the side.

Sighing, he reached to tap his mum and waited for her attention. "I want to go see Elsa at some point today," he protested, eyeing the clock in the background.

His mother sighed and handed the suits to Emily to hold. "Elsa is out doing her own prom shopping. I have already heard from Lillian, she will let us know the colour of Elsa's dress so that we can organise the corsage," she replied. "If you don't give me too much grief today, then you can invite Elsa over to our place tomorrow."

He grinned and took a step back as his sister moved to dump the suits in his hands. "Can we at least go to the Andersen's house so that I can see Anna?" she asked. "If it's only Elsa, then it will be no fun for me. Jack will just take her to his room so that he can kiss her like he does every other time she visits."

He poked his tongue out at his sister. Stepping closer to his mother, he attempted to place the suits in her hands so that he could respond, only for her to shake her head. Instead, she pointed him in the direction of the changing room and gave him a fixed stare until he had no choice, but to comply.

Gulping, he stepped inside the dressing room. sliding his clothes off, he said a silent prayer as he pulled the first suit on. He was tiring of being dragged around and just wanted to be get it finished already. He buttoned the suit up and turned around to admire himself in the mirror. Once satisfied, he stepped out of the cubicle and poked his mother. He watched as she turned him around and tinkered with the suit before sending him back to try the second suit on.

The second suit was a plain black suit with a white dress shirt. Sighing, he slipped it on and admired his reflection. In his opinion, it was a nice fit. The pants were not too long, or too short and the sleeves appeared to be a decent length. Still, there had been several other suits that he had felt fit the criteria that had been dismissed by his mother.

Taking a deep breath, he pushed back the curtain and stepped out. Walking up to his mother, he waited for her to finish her conversation with the sales assistant before tapping her on the shoulder. Biting his lip, he watched as she spun around to admire him. Her eyes glanced over his frame and she tugged and pulled on the suit. Holding his breath, he watched as she broke into a wide smile and nodded her head enthusiastically.

"This suit is perfect," she said, speaking for the sales assistant's benefit. "Do you like it, Jack?"

He shrugged. "I guess so. I mean, it's a suit. I've never worn one before, but it feels nice enough and it seems to fit," he replied nonchalantly.

He watched as his mum turned to let the sales assistant know that they had finally found the perfect fit. Once finished, she pulled out her phone and snapped a photo before typing a message. Slipping the phone back into her pocket, she looked at him.

"I'm sending a photo to Lillian," she explained. "It's not everyday that my baby looks all grown up."

Rolling his eyes, he darted into the change room before his mother could become too preoccupied with pointing out how quickly he was growing up. Quickly, he changed out of the suit and hung it on the hanger before pulling his ordinary clothes on.

Letting out a sigh of relief, he pushed back the curtain and made his way to the curtain with the suit. He stopped to playfully nudge his sister, who was focused on her handheld Nintendo console.

The cashier scanned the price and his eyes widened as he noticed the price. Reaching over, he tugged at his mother's elbow. "Mum, are you sure?" he asked, indicating to the price. "It's almost $230 and we still need shoes."

His mother smiled. Reaching over, she pressed a kiss to his forehead before pulling back and looking at him. "Jack," she began. "This is a really special event in your life. I can handle it. I've got some money saved. Besides, your dad's parents sent me some money for you and Emily for Christmas, so yes, I'm sure."

He nodded. Pulling out his phone, he typed out a text to send to Elsa. He felt the need to let her know that after being poked, prodded and bored senseless, that he had finally found a suit that his mother deemed suitable. Glancing at the message, he hesitated slightly before adding an XO to it- the text equivalent of a kiss and a hug.

* * *

><p>Elsa yawned. Her eyes glanced at the watch that she wore before pulling yet another dress off the rack.<p>

Her mother and Anna had decided a few days ago that they would spend Saturday taking her to find a prom dress. Apparently, her mother had gone one further and had put the idea to go shopping in Caroline Frost's head. Jack had sent her a message to let her know that he had also been dragged shopping for their prom.

While she loved her mother and her sister, she could not deny that shopping for clothes with the two of them was downright exhausting. Both of them meant well, but their taste in fashion was different and they had conflicting ideas on what would suit her. Her mother had hinted that Anna should stay home and rest, but her sister had steadfastly refused. She had claimed that it was the closest she would get to her own prom, at least for another three years. Therefore, she had stated that she had to be part of Elsa's shopping experience.

After waking, they had travelled into the city to check out some formal dresses. So far, they had visited three stores and had left two dresses on the 'maybe' list and had made their way to check out the dresses in a fourth store.

"Anna, I keep telling you that there is no way in hell that your father would agree to a slit that high," her mother argued, pointing to the dark blue dress that Anna had held up. "I know him and if Elsa came home with that, he would have the slit stapled or sewn up immediately."

"But Mum," Anna whined, pouting. "It's so pretty and it would suit Elsa."

"No, 'But Mum's' here, Anna. It's non-negotiable. That dress is not an option," her mother stated and turned her back.

Sighing, she turned her attention back to the racks of the clothing. Her mother and sister continued to argue in the background, but she ignored them. She didn't have the heart to tell Anna that while the dress was pretty, it wasn't quite to her liking.

The sound of a text coming through on her mother's phone interrupted her. Pausing, she turned to face her mum and wondered who it was. A few seconds later, her own phone beeped. Reaching down, she fumbled in her handbag and pulled out her own phone. Swiping the screen, she read the message from Jack. It was only a simple message to let her know that he'd just bought his suit for the prom.

"That was Caroline," her mother explained. "She was just letting me know that they have just purchased Jack's suit. She even sent me a photo of him in it."

"You got a photo? Let me see!" she blurted, moving to stand beside her mother. "I want to see what he looks like."

"Me too. I can't imagine Jack in a suit. I want to see," Anna giggled and moved to grab at their mother's arm.

Frowning, she gently pushed Anna out of the way and moved to stand closer to her mum. "Back off, Anna," she ordered, poking her tongue out. "He's my boyfriend."

Her eyes widened as she looked at the image on the screen. There was no denying that Jack looked hot in the black suit. He looked so different to his normal, everyday outfit of jeans and a t-shirt. Although, she couldn't help feeling relieved when she noticed the way he was posing with his tongue poking out and the cheeky glint in his eyes that she loved so much. "He looks good," she added, smiling at her mum.

"He's poking his tongue out!" Anna exclaimed, grabbing the phone from their mum.

She chuckled. "Well, of course. It is Jack, what did you expect?!" she pointed out. "Of course, he's going to poke his tongue out."

Turning her back on her sister, she walked towards a rack of dresses at the back of the shop. Her eyes fell on a collection of mint green dresses. Flipping through the selection, she pulled out one in her size. She trailed her fingers up and down the dress, admiring the softness of the material. The dress was gorgeous- a long halter dress with an open back, empire waist and an embellished keyhole neckline which led to a beaded halter strap.

Grabbing the dress, she made her way to the change room. She managed to slip into the room unnoticed by both her mother and her sister. Peeling off her clothes, she carefully stepped into the dress and zipped it up. She noted with delight, how the dress seemed to fit her perfectly. The hem of the skirt rested at her ankles and was long enough to be classy, but not too long that she would spend her evening worrying about stepping on it.

Pushing open the curtain, she stepped out into the store and cleared her throat.

"Elsa!" Anna gasped, her jaw dropping. "You look amazing. That dress is-"

"Perfect!" her mother finished, smiling widely. "That dress looks beautiful on you, love. Do you like it?"

She nodded and smiled shyly. "I love it. This is it. This is the one," she said. "It's not too expensive either."

"Jack is going to be speechless," Anna added. "I can't wait until he sees you in the dress."

Blushing, she excused herself to go back into the change room. Quickly, she changed back into her jeans and t-shirt. Carefully, she hung the dress on the hanger before making her way to the counter.

* * *

><p>Jack groaned. He watched with dismay as Elsa led his mother, as well as his own mum and sister into her room before closing the door in his face.<p>

He had tried in vain for most of Saturday evening to convince Elsa to show him her prom dress when they had chatted online. Every time he had asked, she had refused and had told him that he would have to wait until prom to see it. He knew from the text that Lillian Andersen had sent his mum, that the dress was a mint-green colour. His mum had then organised for him to present her with a simple white corsage, but that was all he knew.

He had hoped that by the time he had arrived at the Andersen house, that Elsa would have changed her mind. He had even tried sneaking into her room while she had been in the bathroom, but had been caught. Walt Andersen had witnessed him sneaking in and had clamped his hand over his shoulder and had sternly marched him out of her room before wagging his finger in his face. Walt had then reminded him of the no entry ruled that he had established for Elsa's room.

Slowly, he sunk to his bottom and leaned against the wall. He desperately wanted to know what was going on inside her bedroom and to see the dress, but it was no use. The girls had decided to gang up on him instead.

He felt a tap on his hand. Blinking, he looked up and noticed that the door to Elsa's room was once again open. Standing to his feet, he faced his mother. "The dress is beautiful. You are going to love it," she said, smiling at him.

He nodded. He watched as his mother, Lillian Andersen, Anna and Emily headed down the stairs, leaving him and Elsa alone.

"I still want to see the dress," he cried, pouting at her.

"Patience, Jack. You need patience," Elsa teased, smiling at him. "You only have to wait four more weeks. Besides, haven't you heard that good things come to those who wait?"

Sighing, he reached out to pull her towards him. He wrapped his arms around her waist. She responded immediately and wrapped her arms around his neck. Leaning in, he pressed a soft kiss to her lips.

Breaking the kiss, he looked at her. He removed his hands from her waist. "Now can I see the dress?" he pleaded. "I promise that I'll say lots of nice things about you."

He chuckled and watched as Elsa stepped back and reached to swat at him. Rubbing his head, he watched as she caught his gaze. "Four weeks, Jackson. You have to wait four more weeks. If you don't shut up about the dress, it won't be the only thing that you miss out on," she sassed, winking at him.

* * *

><p><strong>AN- Ahh getting so close to the prom. The next chapter will be a time skip of four weeks again, and will be the big prom chapter. As always, have a great day, thank you all for your reviews, and for taking the time to read this. Keep calm and ship Jelsa. **


	13. Chapter 13

Elsa smiled. Reaching over, she turned the taps and ceased the flow of water from the shower. Stepping out of the shower cubicle, she snorted slightly upon realising that she had just enjoyed the little moment of peace that she would get all day.

After a long four weeks, the time had finally come for her and Jack to attend their prom along with the rest of their senior year. The night had brought with it some conflicting emotions.

Her and Jack had managed to keep their new relationship and planned attendance at the prom, a secret from their classmates. Their decision had been spurred on, in part, by the cruel taunting that they had received from Violet and Tyler, who had wasted no time in telling them that their presence at the prom would not be welcomed. Violet, in particular, had found great delight in telling her that Ryan had only asked her to the prom as part of a cruel bet, a rumour that the young man had vehemently denied.

Her and Jack had started to question their decision to attend. They had wondered if it may be best to simply stay home, where they could curl up on the couch with a pizza. They had extended an offer to Bunny and Tia to join them, but had been denied. Tia had been quick to state that as senior students of the school, they had just as much right to attend the prom as any other. She had gone on to say that they should not let a few bad seeds keep them from enjoying themselves.

"Elsa," Anna's cheery voice called from the other side of the door, snapping her from her thoughts. "Can I come in?"

Rolling her eyes, she pulled a towel off the rack and patted herself dry. "Can you please give me a minute, Anna? I only just stepped out of the shower!" she replied.

"Well, can you hurry up?" Anna groaned. "We need to get you dressed and you need to moisturise. We also need to do hair and makeup and you should probably eat something. Photo's too, we still need to take some photo's of you on your own as well as some nice couple snaps of you and Jack. Also, Mrs Frost will probably want to take some photo's as well. We're kind of running out of time here, Elsa…"

She chuckled. She listened as her sister's voice trailed off and shook her head. Knowing Anna, she was probably mentally checking items off a list that still needed to be done. Her sister had been a bundle of excitement all day. At times, she had wondered if it was possible that Anna was more enthusiastic for the prom than she was. All she knew was that Anna had insisted on being involved in every aspect of the day and had planned a great deal of it.

She had woken that morning and had stumbled out of bed, only to be greeted by Anna with a camera. Much to her dismay, she'd had her photo taken and had then been forced back into her room with the order to get dressed. Once dressed, she had been whisked off to the mall.

At the mall, she had discovered that Anna had convinced their mother to spring for mother-daughter manicures and pedicures. Of course, their time at the nail salon had to be documented and Anna had snapped photo's while she had chosen her nail polish colour and had even convinced the manicurist to snap photo of the three of them in the chair. Once she had finished in the nail salon, she had been whisked around the supermarket where Anna had stocked up on face creams and moisturisers as well as makeup. She had been confused and had shot her mother a look, but had been shrugged off and told to just 'go with it.'

"Elsaa," Anna whined. "You're taking forever. How long does it take you to dry yourself?"

Shaking her head, she wrapped her towel tightly around her slender body and unlocked the door. Stepping out of the bathroom, she groaned at the sight of Anna, who was standing by the door with her camera poised.

"Anna," she moaned, raising her hand to cover the camera lens. "No one wants to see a photo of me fresh out the shower. I'm only in a towel, for crying out loud."

"Jack wants to see you in only a towel," Anna teased, clicking away. "In fact, I'm willing to bet that he wants to see you out of the towel as well."

Sighing, she stepped inside her bedroom and closed the door on Anna. "Goodbye, Anna," she grumbled.

* * *

><p>Jack gulped. Nervously, he straightened the hem of his suit jacket while he watched as his mum leaned over to press the doorbell. He watched as the curtain of the Andersen lounge room window was pulled back to reveal Anna's beaming face.<p>

Looking down, he noticed Emily had begun bouncing around, having spotted Anna in the window. His sister had been a bundle of energy all day and was keen to see Elsa in her dress and catch up with Anna, whom she doted on.

He, in contrast, had not shared the same level of enthusiasm. He had spent most of the day with Aster and Sandy and had distracted himself by playing pranks on Aster. When he had tired or pranking his friend, he had shifted to kicking his butt on video games. To his relief, his friends had gone easy on him and had not scolded him too much. They were both aware of the nerves that he had been feeling.

While him and Elsa had done their best to keep their attendance at the prom a secret, it hadn't stopped Tyler and his gang from using the event as yet another reason to torment them. Tyler had caught him reading a poster advertising the prom and had shoved him roughly before he'd glared at him. A note had been delivered later that day to warn him against attending and had made the ignorant assumption that he had no interest in the prom.

He also knew that Elsa had been wary about attending prom as well, which hadn't helped ease his nerves. Tyler's girlfriend Violet had seen to it that Elsa had also received the message that she would not be welcome at the prom.

Together, they had discussed cancelling the plans and spending it at together at one of their homes with their friends Bunny and Tia. He had raised the idea with Bunny, only for the Australian male to shoot him down. Instead, he had told him bluntly that he would be a fool to miss the prom. He had claimed that as an enrolled student, Jack had just as much right to attend the celebration as every other senior student.

He felt a nudge and turned to face his sister. "Stand up straight!" she ordered.

Rolling his eyes, he straightened up and watched as the front door open. Walt Andersen greeted them, smiling widely as he stepped back and invited them into their home. He nodded his greeting and stepped into the entranceway. He glanced into the living room and noticed that a few pieces of furniture had been pushed back, which he assumed was to make way for photo's.

He felt a tap on his shoulder and turned to find Anna staring at him. Lifting her camera up, she snapped a photo of him. He blinked slightly and looked at her. "Hi," he said.

"You look different...smarter," Anna teased before frowning slightly. "Did I say that right?"

Grinning, he poked his tongue out at her before responding. "Thanks...I think and yes. You said that right."

Stifling a laugh, he watched as Anna fistpumped the air. He knew that Elsa had been passing on the ASL lessons that she had learned to her family. From what she had said, they hadn't picked up the language as well as she had, but they were eager to learn and continued to try their skills whenever he was around.

Raising his hands, he was just about to speak when Emily jumped in front of him. She pointed her arm in the direction of the doorway. Turning around, he followed her gaze to see Elsa standing bashfully in the doorway.

He felt his jaw drop. All coherent thoughts left his mind as his eyes roamed up and down his gorgeous girlfriend's body. He hadn't thought it possible, but she had managed to look even more beautiful than she normally did. Her long, mint-green dress fell to her ankles and had a beaded detail that ran under her breasts before meeting in the middle and wrapping around her neck to serve as the dress straps. She turned around slowly to show off her bare back. Her long, platinum-blonde hair fell loose around her shoulders with a few soft curls. The only jewellery she wore, was a pair of silver earrings which matched the silver heels that she wore on her feet.

Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed the flash of the camera as Anna stepped forward to capture his expression. He was well aware that his mouth was still open and he looked like an idiot, but he didn't care. He was going to blame his speechlessness on Elsa. She had stepped in the room and had stolen all hopes of an intelligent comment.

"Wow," he spoke, grinning widely. "Just wow."

Shaking his head, he stepped forward and ran a hand through his hair. He knew that he was making a spectacle of himself in front of their families, but he didn't care.

"You look gorgeous," Elsa said, blushing slightly.

"You are so beautiful," he stated, ignoring the deep blush that had spread across his cheeks.

A tap on his shoulder snapped him from his daze. Grinning, he turned around to face his mum, who handed him the corsage that they had bought for Elsa. Leaning forward, he gently fixed the delicate flower to the strap of Elsa's dress. Stepping back, he admired the view before Walt Andersen stepped into view and signed that he wanted to take a few photographs.

* * *

><p>Elsa flinched and wriggled her toes after Jack had stepped on her feet for the third time in as many minutes. Pulling back, she watched as his eyes flicked between her own eyes and her feet before he shrugged, apologetically. She smiled and looked at him, hoping that he would get the message that it was okay.<p>

Stepping closer, she wrapped her arms tighter around his neck as a pop song played. She felt his arms tighten their grip on her waist as he pressed her closer to him. From the corner of her eyes she saw Ryan, dancing with a petite brunette and smiled at him. She felt Jack slow his movement as he pulled back and ran his hand through her hair. His blue eyes glanced over her once again and she blushed.

He had been staring at her as if he was starstruck ever since she had entered the lounge room. He had spent most of the limo ride to the prom venue telling her how beautiful she looked. Not that she had minded, she had felt just as speechless after she had seen him.

Seeing Jack standing in her lounge room in his suit, had blown her away. She had been surprised with how mature and sophisticated he had looked. Although, his boyish charm and natural good-looks had still been present. His hair had been styled down with hairspray, however, he had wasted no time in running his hands through it and had returned it to its normal tousled state the minute the limo had pulled away from her house.

Once they had entered the hotel ballroom, she had felt the familiar feeling of anxiety rise. She had feared that her and Jack would not be welcomed. However, to her relief, their classmates had ignored their presence. They had seemed more concerned with not stepping on their own dates toes, or checking out their friends fancy clothing to bother with her and Jack.

The first hour had passed without a hitch. Jack had quickly found the refreshments table and had picked up a glass of soft drink for them both. She had sipped on the drink while she had looked around the room. To her surprise, a lof of students had appeared to be unsure about what to do and had stood around the edge of the dance floor with drinks, or chatted and posed for photo's. She had not seen any sign of Violet and Tyler, or any of their friends which had come as a welcome relief.

A few students had approached her and Jack and had innocently asked how Jack could dance when he could not hear the music. Fortunately, Hans had been quick to step in and translate for Jack and the students. Luckily, she had been prepared for the question a few weeks earlier when curiosity had got the better of Anna and she had ended up asking the same question. Jack had expected a few people to ask and had grinned before going on to explain that if the music was loud enough and if it had a good deal of percussion and bass, he could feel the vibrations coursing through his body, in particular his breastbone. The students had simply nodded and had seemed to accept the answer. They had then bid them farewell and had wished them a good evening before they had returned to whatever they had been doing.

* * *

><p>Jack could feel his cheeks heating up as his feet once again managed to step on Elsa's toes. He knew that she was shaking it off and said that it didn't bother her, but he still felt guilty. After all, he was wearing a pair of boots while she was in heels with her toes exposed.<p>

He paused. Pulling back, he dropped his hands from around her waist. "I think that it's time for a drink. Your toes need a rest," he said, indicating towards the tables that had been set up on the edge of the dance floor.

Grabbing her hand, he led her towards a small table. He used his spare hand to beckon at Hans, letting him know where they were going.

Hans approached slowly with drink in his hand. He knew that he was trying to give him and Elsa space and to make it feel like he wasn't a babysitter. When it was just him and Elsa, he would hang back. Elsa's grasp on ASL had grown considerably and she was now able to hold longer conversations in sign before she had to resort to paper or technology. It was only when other students neared them that Hans would step forward. Although, he would always seek to receive confirmation first and would make eye contact in order to establish whether his assistance was needed.

Placing his drink on the table, Hans took his seat. "So, having fun?" he asked, leaning back on his chair.

"Surprisingly, yes," Elsa replied with a smile. "What about you? Thank you for coming and for giving up your night."

Hans grinned. "Well, it is my job. It's a school event and I'm hired to interpret for Jack at school and any school events which he attends," he answered. "Truthfully, I don't mind. My partner wanted to drag me to see a movie which he likes, but I hate. I should be thanking you guys."

"The other students are all being quite nice," Elsa noted. "They don't seem to care that we are here."

He nodded. Reaching over, he gripped Elsa's hand and gave it a squeeze. He knew that she, like him, had been worried about trouble from Tyler and Violet, but so far they had failed to make an appearance. The remainder of their classmates had pretty much ignored them with only a few stopping to question how he could respond to the music.

Elsa," Hans began. "I've found that most people are curious about what they perceive to be different. Some ask questions, others don't. However, it is good that these kids are asking. It gives them a chance to learn which can lead to understanding and tolerance. Also, for what it's worth, most of the kids here are far too preoccupied with how they look and with not making a fool of themselves."

Hans paused. Leaning forward, he took a sip of his drink before glancing down. His eyes zeroed in on their intertwined hands.

"What I want to know," Hans began, raising his eyebrows. "Is when did this happen? Something has changed between the two of you."

Blushing, he let go of Elsa's hand. "Eight weeks ago," he answered, honestly. "It's a secret though. Only a few people know."

He watched as a smile crossed Hans' face. "I'm going to be honest here. I suspected that you two liked each other. However, with that said, I'm afraid that it's not going to remain a secret much longer. Not with the way you two have been looking at each other all night, or the places that you have rested your hands, Jack."

Gulping, he shot a horrified look at Hans. Memories of Walt Andersen's pulling him aside before he'd stepped into the limo and telling him to 'watch the hands' came to mind.

He felt Elsa's hand reach down to squeeze his leg. Grinning, he turned to face her and noticed the way her eyes had lit up and her smile had widened. Removing her hand, she looked at him. "We have to dance to this song," she ordered.

* * *

><p>Elsa smiled and tightened her hands around Jack's neck as the song played. She felt his hands make their way to rest on her lower back and pull her closer to him.<p>

All around them, students danced and couples got closer as the music changed from upbeat songs to slower paced ballads. Taking a deep breath, she stepped forward and closed the gap between her and Jack. She rested her head on his shoulder and breathed in his scent. She felt Jack shift slightly before he rested his head on hers and swayed with her to the music.

She knew that her actions of dancing so intimately with Jack would announce their relationship to anyone who spotted them, but she didn't care. Her feelings for him were only growing and she was finding it harder and harder to deny them in public. She wanted to know what it felt like to hold his hand as they walked to the cafeteria, or to steal a kiss at their lockers like she had seen other couples do. Besides, the reaction to their appearance at the prom had been fine so far, which led her to believe that they could be accepted by their peers.

Slowly, the song came to a finish before making way for another ballad. Blinking, she turned to face Jack. Her eyes caught his before she flicked down to his soft lips. She wanted to kiss him. She wanted to lean in close and feel his lips on hers while he held her tight. Shifting her head, she noticed that a few other couples had stopped dancing and were standing on the spot kissing without a care in the world. Taking a deep breath, she leaned in to press a quick kiss to his lips.

Breaking the kiss, she let out a content sigh and laid her head on his shoulder. Closing her eyes, she revelled in the feeling of being held in his arms as they swayed to the music. She had no idea if Jack could feel the vibrations from the song that was playing. The song was being played loud, but lacked the heavy beat of earlier songs. Either way, it didn't matter. They were together, having fun and being left alone.

"Oh, that is cute," sneered a loud voice. "It figures that you two losers would come together."

She froze. Opening her eyes, she turned to stare in horror as Violet and Tyler moved closer, surrounded by a few of their friends. She felt Jack drop his arms from her waist and move to stand beside her. Reaching over, she tapped his arm.

"I'll fill you in later," she signed.

"I thought we told you that you are not welcome here," Violet snapped. "There is no point in you being here is there? I mean, he can't even hear the damn music and it's not like anyone wants you here."

* * *

><p>Jack felt Elsa stiffen in his arms before she stepped back and removed her arms from his neck. He couldn't understand the shift in her. One minute she had been in his arms, kissing him and the next she had frozen.<p>

Opening his eyes, he felt his heart rate increase as he glanced around and noticed Tyler, Violet and their nasty group of friends standing in front of him with a threatening scowl on their faces. Suddenly, Elsa's reaction made sense. Gulping, he turned to look at Elsa. He noted the way her face had paled as she signed to let him know that she would fill him in later.

He watched as Tyler stepped forward and held his phone out for him to read. '_What the hell do you think you are doing here, loser? It's not like you can hear the music.'_

He rolled his eyes. He knew better than to waste his time trying to talk to their bullies. Tyler and his gang weren't interested in learning. They simply wanted to bully him and to remind him that he wasn't welcomed and would never be accepted.

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Hans make a step towards them. His interpreter's face was stern and he wore an expression that he had never seen before as he fixed his glare on Tyler.

Reaching out, he pulled Elsa towards him and wrapped his arms tightly around her waist. He knew that in doing so, any hopes of keeping their relationship a secret from their bullies would be dashed, but he didn't care. She was desperately trying to stay strong for him and he had to do the same for her. He had to make her feel secure.

* * *

><p>"I told you, No-way," Violet said threateningly. "Go back to where you came from and take your stupid Deaf boyfriend with you."<p>

Elsa blinked and swallowed the lump that had risen in her throat. She felt Jack's arms wrap around her waist as he pulled her close to him. Any comfort that she should have felt from his action was eclipsed by the fear that came from knowing Violet now had proof of their romantic relationship. She could only imagine the ways that Violet and her gang would try and use their romance against them.

She watched as the few nearby couples that had been dancing stopped and turned to focus their attention on the commotion that was going on.

"Oh, that is cute. Deaf-boy wants to protect his girlfriend. He could probably do a better job if he could actually hear," Violet smirked, her eyes trailing over them. "I want to know how long you've actually been going out? I mean, they do say that freaks attract freaks, losers attract losers-"

"Bullies attract other bullies," came a loud voice.

Gulping, she turned to watch as Ryan broke through the gathered crowd and came to stand beside her and Jack, flashing her a small smile.

"You know, Violet," he continued, crossing his arms over his chest. "It's not Jack or Elsa that people don't want here. It's you, your boyfriend and your stupid little gang."

She watched as Ryan's friends stepped forward to flank her, Jack and Ryan with their arms crossed over their chest and their glare fixed on Violet and Tyler. She gasped as the crowd grew bigger, with more and more students turning to glare at their bullies.

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Hans breaking through the crowd to sign to Jack before he turned to face Tyler and Violet. His voice was low and his normally friendly expression had shifted to a shiver-inducing glare as he told their bullies that while he couldn't personally punish them, he had no qualms in alerting the supervising teachers to their behaviour.

"These losers," Tyler spat, dismissively. "You know, you are really going to lose all credibility for standing up for them, Ryan."

Ryan snorted. "It's better than having no credibility due to being a pathetic asshole like you, Tyler."

She shifted her head to look at Jack. His eyes had widened as he took in the scene that was unfolding. She offered him a bleak smile before turning to look for Hans, wondering if he was signing for Jack, but he had disappeared.

"You know, Violet. I have to say that after all these years, you are still a complete and utter bitch. You are still bullying perfectly nice people and making them feel like shit for no reason. You are fucking pathetic. I hope you know that," Lisa stated loudly, stepping out from the crowd to glare at Violet.

"Bu...but," Violet stammered, her face flushed. "No one wants them here!"

Beside her, Lisa chortled. She shook her head and fixed her glare on Violet. "No, you bitch. No one wants YOU here," she said. "You always ruin things by being a complete and utter bitch. You have no good reason to treat anyone, least of all Jack and Elsa, like shit. Jack can not change the fact that he was born Deaf. Elsa can not change that she was born in Norway, or that her father accepted a job here. You, however, you CAN change how you treat people, but you don't. You are just a rude, nasty, bitch and I am sick of you ruining things. I am sick of seeing you treat people like this."

* * *

><p>Jack watched in amazement as the crowd that had gathered around him and Elsa grew larger. Instead of laughing and jeering with the bullies, they appeared to be standing up to them in support of him and Elsa.<p>

Ryan had been the first to step forward. He had broken through and had stood beside them with his arms crossed across his chest and his gaze fixed on Tyler and Violet and had spoken to them. A few seconds later, the rest of Ryan's friends had joined them and had all stood with their arms crossed over their chests.

Hans had stepped forward and had glared at the bullies before he had stepped back to let him know that he was going to get help.

He felt Elsa shift in his arms to look at him before returning her attention to face the gathered crowd.

His eyes fell on Violet and he noted the deep shade of red that had crossed her face. Taking a step back, her mouth opened as she undoubtedly hissed something cruel. However, to his surprise, she appeared to be silenced. A redheaded girl that he had spotted at Ryan's table had stepped forward to face Violet and was glaring at her. From the look on Violet's face, whatever the redhead was saying wasn't to her liking.

He felt Elsa step out of his grip and turn to face him. "Jack, they are standing up for us!" she gasped, indicating towards the crowd.

He felt his smile widening. Boldly, he pulled Elsa back into his arms and placed a kiss on her cheek. Beside him, he felt a hand on his shoulder. Gasping, he turned to watch as a blonde boy, who he recognised as John, the captain of the school's football team, stepped forward and shot him a shy smile.

In front of him, their bullies appeared to be losing their normal confident demeanor at a rapidly fast pace. Taking a deep breath, he watched as Hans approached them, followed closely by the school's vice principal and broke through the crowd.

* * *

><p>Elsa could feel the tears threatening to fall down her face. However, this time the tears were not from pain, but from joy.<p>

She still could not believe the scene which had unfolded, nor the range of emotions that she had felt in the space of thirty minutes. Somehow, the trouble that she had feared would happened, had. However, it had taken a surprising turn which had rendered her speechless.

Her and Jack's quiet, uneventful night at the prom had been interrupted by the late arrival of Violet, Tyler and their gang. The bullies had wasted no time in trying to insult her and Jack. They had made it clear that they wanted her and Jack to leave the prom. She had been close to leaving, when the appearance of a few of their classmates had stopped her.

Ryan had been the first to step forward. He had broken through the crowd and had stood beside her and Jack. Within seconds, Ryan's friends had joined him in support of their friend.

Lisa had been the next to speak. She had stepped forward and snapped at Violet. Once she had finished, she had turned to face her and Jack and had said that she would have preferred to punch Violet, but she did not wish to get thrown out of their prom.

After Lisa had spoken, a few more students from the crowd that had formed had stepped forward. Every one of them had added their own less than favourable opinion of Violet and Tyler and the way they had treated people. If it hadn't been for Jack's strong grip on her waist, she would have likely collapsed from the shock. She had never thought that so many people had been against their bullies. However, the crowd had clearly been in support of her and Jack and she had witnessed as their bullies had begun to lose their sense of bravado.

Their bullies faces had turned pale when Hans had returned and had pushed through the crowd with the vice principal on his heels. Both men's faces had been red with anger as they had pulled the bullies, along with her and Jack from the hotel ballroom.

Once outside the ballroom, the principal had leaned in and had asked for a brief explanation. Between her and Hans, they had managed to tell him how the events had unfolded. Hans had also wasted no time in telling him how both her and Jack had been bullied by Tyler, Violet and their gang. The vice principal had cast his eyes over them all and she had felt her breath hitch out of fear that her and Jack had been in trouble. He had then pinched his nose before he had leaned down to order their bullies to leave the prom, with the expectation that they would meet with him first thing Monday morning to discuss their punishment.

* * *

><p>Jack let out a breath of relief as he watched Tyler, Violet and their friends be escorted out of the hotel lobby by their vice principal. Beside him, he felt Elsa shake and reached out his arm to pull her close, steadying her.<p>

"I probably shouldn't say this, but I hate that little punk and his gang. I'm glad that he finally got what he deserved," Hans said, nodding his head in the direction of Tyler. "Him and that girlfriend of his have been vile to the two of you."

"You knew?" he gasped, staring blankly at Hans. "Why didn't you say anything?"

Hans nodded. "Yes, I knew. I tried to hint at it, so that I could encourage you to get help. However, you didn't want to talk to me. You had to feel safe and clearly you weren't, not with that little shit bullying you."

He swallowed the lump that had formed in his throat. Bowing his head, he felt the shame wash over him.

He felt Hans reach over to tap his shoulder. "Hey, it's over. Those kids in the ballroom were standing up for you and Elsa. The two of you have more support than you realise. It's over, Jack. This is a good thing. From the sounds of it, those bullies won't get far if they try anything else," Hans added, smiling. "I just wish that I could do more for you."

He nodded. He wanted to say something, but had no idea what to say. A sense of shame filled him in knowing that Hans had been aware of the bullying they had received for so long. He had tried to hide all signs that he was being bullied from Hans and his mother out of fear of attracting attention and creating a scene.

Both him and Elsa had feared that their attending the prom could lead to further trouble from their bullies. They had almost cancelled their attendance due to the fear that they would be targeted by Violet and Tyler in a public setting. They had been right and their bullies had created a scene. However, it hadn't gone exactly as planned.

Their fellow classmates had stepped out to support him and Elsa, not their bullies. People that they had never even interacted with, had come forward to defend them. It had left him wondering if the support for him, for them had always been there and they had simply been oblivious.

For so long, they had kept to themselves. Their bullies had been successful in making them doubt the behaviour of their classmates. They had feared that everyone hated them and wanted to hurt them. It was the same fear that had made them both wary of the other when they had first met. However, as they had discovered with each other, that hadn't been the case.

A tap on his hand broke him from his thoughts. Looking up, he found Hans smiling at him. "I'm going to head back inside. I'll see you when you get back in," Hans said. "Don't get yourself into too much trouble."

He chuckled and watched as Hans walked away, leaving him alone with Elsa in the hallway.

Sighing, he reached his hands out and pulled her to him. He wrapped his arms around her waist, holding her tight before leaning in to press a kiss to her lips. She reacted instantly, her body relaxed as she wrapped her arms around his neck. Her hand moved to brush through his hair as she deepened the kiss.

* * *

><p>Elsa sighed. Peering in the mirror, she checked that she had cleaned off the last of her makeup as she recounted the events of the prom to Anna.<p>

Her and Jack had returned to the ballroom, spurred on by the confidence they had felt in knowing that their classmates had come to their defence. Once inside the ballroom, they had been pleased to discover that the atmosphere had shifted and had returned to the same relaxed state that it had been prior to their bullies arrival.

She had gripped tightly to Jack's hand and had led him through the ballroom. Along the way, they had been stopped by other students who had wished to apologise for the bullies behaviour and to wish them an enjoyable evening.

Finally, they had found Ryan and his date gathered at a table with his friends. They had paused long enough to thank the group for their assistance before they had made their way to Hans to thank him for his support once again.

The rest of the night had finished with the announcement of Prom King and Queen before the lights had flicked on and they had been sent home. Ryan had caught them on their way out and had invited them to an after party, but they had declined in favour of returning to their respective homes.

"So, not only did Tyler and Violet finally get what they had coming, but you and Jack kind of went public with your relationship," Anna said, moving to sit on the edge of the bathtub.

She grinned. Scooping up her long hair and tying it back before wiping moisturiser over her face. "Yeah, I guess we did. I mean, we danced together and we...we.."

"Kissed?" Anna suggested, chuckling.

She blushed. "Yeah a few times. Once before Violet and Tyler, then out in the hallway, but no one saw that and then I kissed him during one of the last songs that played," she admitted.

"So, I take it that you're not worried about people knowing now. No more keeping it quiet at school?" Anna asked.

She shook her head. "Nope, no more hiding it."

* * *

><p><strong>ANote- **

**Okay, so this is a long chapter and there are a few bits of research that may be of interest. Special thanks once again to Zulka for sharing some information from her book**

**Articles I Read:**

**Deaf Music- Music In The World blog**

** .edu/musicintheworld/2012/12/02/deaf-music/**

**Deaf People Can 'Hear' Music  
><strong>** 2013/11/deaf-people-can-hear-music/**

**If you are interested you may wish to check out some talented Deaf dancers.**

**Typing in 'Alvin Horton: Deaf Dancer' on You Tube will bring a good video of a talented Deaf dancer.**


	14. Chapter 14

Jack beamed. Leaning back on his desk chair, he watched as his friends and acquaintances reacted to the photo's from the prom that he had posted to his Facebook page.

He had spent most of the morning on his computer, chatting with Elsa and looking at the photo's that she had taken at the prom, as well as pictures that had been taken of them by others. He had discovered early in the morning that Hans had managed to sneak a few photographs of them and had emailed them to his mother. He had even snapped a picture towards the end of the night when he had been far too busy kissing Elsa to notice the flash of a camera. He had also found a few photographs that had been taken by his new Facebook friends.

The previous night had broken a few barriers between him and his classmates. Both him and Elsa had logged on to Facebook to find a friendship request from Ryan, which had led to requests from a few of his friends including Lisa, the redheaded girl who had been quick to leap to their defense. At first, he had been apprehensive to accept them and had considered declining them. However, Ryan had sent them a private message to explain that while he could understand any reluctance they may have, given that they had both spent the majority of the school year ignored by their classmates, he would like the opportunity to get to know them both some more.

It hadn't surprised him that the main topic of conversation amongst his new school acquaintances had been the senior prom. He had noticed a status on Ryan's wall which had claimed the prom to be a success, except for the arrival of Tyler and Violet. He had read through with interest and had felt his eyes widening as his classmates had condemned the bullies behaviour. So many students, many of whom he had never interacted with, had complimented the way he and Elsa had handled the attack and shared stories of their own run-ins with the bullies. Many students had also claimed to have witnessed the bullying that both him and Elsa had received over the year.

It had felt surreal to him. For so long, he had felt isolated and stuck inside a world of his own at his new school. Then Elsa had come into his life, as lonely as he was and suffering the same cruel treatment from the people who made his life hell. Together, they had felt like they were outcasts and unwelcomed in their new environment. However, the reaction on Ryan's status had suggested that their classmates had noticed them and that it had never been they, who their classmates disliked. It had always been the couple that had bullied them, who had been disliked.

Aside from the bullying couple and their gang, the other big news from the prom had been the couples that had been seen. Along with the well-known couples, there had been the newer pairings and the surprise relationships that had come out in the open.

After he'd arrived home, he had received a text from Elsa where she had stated that she believed that they could no longer keep their relationship a secret. She had gone on to say that she no longer wanted to keep it to themselves. She had claimed that having been caught dancing closely and kissing at the prom had basically announced their relationship to their classmates anyway. Therefore, she had no intention of holding back anymore.

He had agreed. He'd not failed to notice the curious look on peoples faces after he had stolen a kiss from Elsa towards the end of the night. There was no way that they could claim to be 'just friends' anymore.

Elsa had been quick to act. She had changed her Facebook profile picture to one of them prior to leaving for the prom, one where his arms had been wrapped tightly around her waist. Together, they had changed their relationship status on the site to announce their relationship. To his delight, the response had been positive. Friends and family had all expressed positive wishes. Elsa's grandparents had even gone so far to say that they had noticed sparks when they had visited over Christmas. They had gone on to say that he would be welcomed if he chose to accompany Elsa on a visit back home to Norway.

Still, despite the positivity surrounding their appearance at the prom and their relationship, he couldn't help feeling nervous about returning to school the following day. Regardless of their classmates support, Tyler and Violet would likely be an issue. He couldn't help fearing that they would try and get revenge for being tossed out of the prom and the punishment that they would receive.

Shaking his head, he leaned forward and read as yet another positive comment was added to one of the couple pictures of him and Elsa. This time, the comment came from Bunny, who claimed that they really did make a perfect pair.

He let out a sigh. He couldn't help feeling concerned about their relationship's longevity. He knew that Elsa cared for him a lot and he was in love with her, but he still didn't feel like he deserved her. She was someone who deserved nothing but the best. She deserved to live the perfect life and to be happy, loved and comfortable. With him, she would always be 'different' and she would always be forced to face a few ignorant people. She would have to deal with translating for him and explaining to well-meaning people that simply talking louder, or slower would not cause him to miraculously regain his hearing. She deserved the world and he wasn't sure that he could give it to her.

* * *

><p>Grinning, Elsa turned to wave at her mum before taking Jack's hand and stepping out the door.<p>

She couldn't help feeling some conflicting emotions about the week ahead. On the one hand, she was excited. Her and Jack's relationship was now out in the open and they were free to hold hands and show small tokens of affection in public. However, on the other hand, it also meant that Violet and Tyler were going to be punished for their behaviour at the prom. She knew that they would not be happy about being escorted from the prom, or being scolded by their peers and the likelihood of her and Jack copping further abuse was strong.

Despite the fact that it had been obvious that Tyler and Violet had less support than they had realised, their bullies still had the ability to cause her and Jack pain. She could not deny that she was worried about how they would behave over the next few days. A concern that she knew Jack shared, even if he had remained quiet on the subject.

She felt Jack slow down beside her as the school building came into view. Suddenly, he stopped and dropped his grip on her hand. "Are you ready for this?" he asked, his blue eyes staring into hers as he sought assurance.

She nodded. "We've got this. We only have a few more weeks of school left until we've finished," she replied. "Besides, our final exams are more terrifying than a few bullies."

To her relief, Jack seemed to accept the answer. He simply flashed her his lopsided grin before reaching to take her hand in his. He gave her hand a squeeze as they walked the last few steps towards the school.

Taking a deep breath, they entered the building. To her surprise, no one seemed to notice her and Jack holding hands. All around them, students behaved like normal and rushed about to get to their homeroom. A few students that she recognised from her classes gave her a shy smile or nod, but that was it. Everyone else seemed too preoccupied with their own business to care about her and Jack's hands being entwined as they made their way to Jack's locker.

Reaching Jack's locker, she stood to the side as he slid his bag in and sorted his books out. Around them, the corridor started to empty as students filed into their homeroom. Shyly, she shifted on her feet as Jack pulled back from his locker to look at her. She noted the cheeky look on his face and rolled her eyes. He was up to something and she knew it.

Suddenly, his hand shot out to gently grip her wrist and pulled her towards him. His spare hand moved to rest on her back. Sighing, she wrapped one arm around his neck while the other hand moved to stroke his face. Leaning in, he pressed a kiss to her lips.

The sound of a cough caused her to break the kiss. Blushing, she turned her head to face Hans, who looked down at her and Jack with his eyebrow raised. "You know, I have no problem with the two of you being together, or making out wherever or whenever, but if you chose to do it here at school then there are some rules to follow," he began. "For starters, make sure that you never do it in front of someone else's locker. That just makes it awkward for all involved when they need to ask you to move. Also, try and make it so that you're not too busy making out to notice that the school bell is due to ring in less than a minute."

Blushing, she looked at the hallway and noticed that it had emptied around her. Stepping out of Jack's grip, she waved at him and chuckled as he threw Hans a cocky look before he stepped inside his homeroom.

* * *

><p>Jack sighed. Slamming his locker closed, he crossed the hallway to wait patiently for Elsa to return to her locker so that they could go for lunch.<p>

His morning had passed in a blur. He had walked into his first period class and had been surprised when Ryan had waved at him. Tyler had returned to the class towards the end of the lesson and had stopped long enough to glare at him before he had slunk into a seat up the back of the room. He hadn't failed to notice the look of disgust on Hans' face and had witnessed him shaking his head before he had turned his attention back to the teacher.

He had not heard about the punishment that his bullies had received, but he had heard from fellow students. All morning he had received notes from students that had barely spared him a second glance before prom. The notes had all been positive and had stated that they apologised for not speaking out earlier and claimed that they hated Tyler and Violet and their nasty gang. The attention had been overwhelming for him, especially after he had gone for so long being ignored.

Glancing up, his eyes widened and his smile grew as he spotted Elsa making her way through the crowd as she headed for her locker. He watched as her smile grew upon spotting him. Leaning down, he opened her locker for her.

"Hey," he greeted, watching as she stepped closer.

Stepping back, he waited patiently for Elsa to slide her books into her locker before grabbing her lunch, pen, paper and ASL book and slamming the door shut. He watched as she tucked her books and lunch under her arm and reached her spare hand down to grip his.

Grinning, he held Elsa's hand tightly as they walked towards the cafeteria. He gulped as the cafeteria came into sight. All day he had received nothing but positive responses from fellow classmates, except for the glare he'd received from Tyler in class and Violet when she had passed him in the hallway. However, he couldn't help fearing that their bullies may approach them in class where there was less supervision from teachers.

He felt Elsa squeeze his hand as they entered the cafeteria and glanced at her, giving her a brief smile. He knew that she was worried for the same reason he was.

* * *

><p>Jack swallowed the last of his sandwich and smiled. Reaching over, he pressed a quick kiss to Elsa's cheek, chuckling as she blushed slightly. Grinning, he shifted his chair closer to drape his arm around her shoulders.<p>

After sharing the notes that he had received, he had asked her how her morning had been. He had been relieved to hear that she had also received positive feedback from their classmates. A few students had apparently approached her in her classes to tell her that they liked her dress, or that they thought her and Jack to be a cute couple. Like him, she had also not heard anything from Violet and had only received a glare when she had returned to their shared class.

He felt Elsa shift and looked up to watch as she gave a wave to Ryan as he passed by their table with the girl that he'd attended prom with. He swallowed as he felt the familiar lump of jealousy forming in his throat. Memories of Ryan's initial interest in Elsa crossed his mind. However, the presence of Elsa's hand which had dropped to rest on his thigh caused his mind to wander. Instead, he gave Ryan a polite nod before turning to gaze at Elsa.

Reaching his hand down, he placed his hand on Elsa's and curled his fingers around hers. He watched as she turned to smile at him. Beaming, he raised his hand. He was just about to twist their hands to press a kiss to the palm of her hand when he noticed her face pale.

Turning his head, he could feel the panic rising as he noticed Tyler, Violet and their friends surrounding their table. He watched as Tyler glared at him before shoving a few sheets of paper under his nose.

'_Thanks to you, asshole. I got given detention for a whole week- we all did. All because you couldn't listen to fucking instructions when we told you to stay away...oh wait, you can't listen can you?' _Tyler said.

Sighing, he moved to grab a pen from Elsa. He was determined to point out that it wasn't their fault and to remind Tyler that it was his and Violet's decision to approach them and to bully them, when something inside of him snapped.

Glancing up, he could see Ryan and his friends as they shot to their feet. Slowly, a gathering of students from the senior year began to approach their table with their eyes all fixed on the bullies. He looked to his left and watched as Elsa shot to her feet. Her blue eyes had hardened and she was glaring at Violet and Tyler.

Pushing his chair back, he slung his arm around Elsa's waist and pulled her tightly towards him. He felt her body soften slightly as she relaxed under his touch. In the background, he noticed a flash of strawberry-blonde hair moving through the crowd as Anna pushed through to stand beside Elsa, followed closely by her own friends.

He looked at Tyler and noticed as his eyes widened and he took a deep breath, seemingly less confident when faced with a larger crowd of people. He knew that he had the support of the crowd that had formed around him and Elsa. Despite the fact that they had people willing to stand up for them, he couldn't help feeling that he should learn to do it for himself. Especially as their time at school was rapidly coming to a close.

Taking a deep breath, he narrowed his eyes and glared at Tyler. "You know what, Tyler? Yes it's true. I am Deaf. It seems that you have finally figured out that if you say anything then I can not hear it. Congratulations, you must be proud," he spoke. "It may be a little too late, but who cares. I am not going to let you push me and my girlfriend around anymore. It is not our fault that you and Violet bullied us, that you treated us like shit and made us feel like we didn't belong. It is your fault and your fault alone that you have detention. Also, yes, this is what my spoken voice sounds like. It can't be helped, it comes with the Deafness. I was born Deaf and can't help it. I know that you are probably going to laugh at my voice and this speech, but...but fuck you."

Gulping, he took a step back. His sudden burst of bravado didn't seem so brave. Not now that it was said. In fact, he had just given Tyler another reason to bully him. Turning his head, he watched as the gathered crowd burst into applause with a few students giving him a thumbs up. Grinning, he turned to face Elsa and watched as she stared at him with her mouth open.

"You were amazing!" she gasped. "I can't believe you just did that"

Blushing slightly, he turned to face Tyler. He watched as Tyler glared at him one last time before turning and stomping away. Violet and their small group of friends followed closely behind him.

He turned to smile at the gathered crowd and watched as they slowly returned to their tables. He could feel his heart rate racing as he settled back on his chair and pulled Elsa to sit beside him.

* * *

><p>Elsa smiled and leaned back against Jack's chest. His arms had settled around her waist, holding her close to him. She let out a content sigh and rested her hands on his own hands.<p>

They had chosen to return to her house after school. The teachers had gone easy on the homework, which allowed them to enjoy a relaxed start on the new school week. Initially, they had planned to start studying for their final exams, but the events that had unfolded in the cafeteria had proven too momentous for her to ignore.

It had come as no surprise to her that Tyler and Violet had approached them in the cafeteria. The duo had spent all of morning homeroom and half of their first lesson in the principal's office where they had received their punishment. She had realised that their bullies would want to seek some payback against her and Jack for their punishment and the peer scolding which they had received.

Her and Jack had just finished their meal and had been discussing the positive aspects of their morning when the bullies had approached.

She had felt her heart racing as she had caught sight of Violet's angry face. Violet had stuck to her standard scathing insults. She had insulted her for being Norwegian, for her light hair and pale complexion and had blamed her and Jack for being kicked out of prom.

It hadn't been until Violet had dared to attack Jack, that she had snapped. The names that had been thrown at her were bad enough, but she had crossed the line when she had dared take a dig at Jack for being Deaf. To her disgust, Tyler had stood beside his girlfriend and had smirked as he watched Jack read the note that he had passed him. She hadn't even had to read the note to know that it had hurt Jack. The speed at which he had scrunched it up had told her that it had been cruel.

She had shot to her feet and had noticed Anna and her friends, as well as a selection of students from the senior class moving towards the their table with their arms crossed and glares directed at the bullies. She had realised that the crowd had been moving in to support her and Jack if needed.

She had felt a surge of confidence from the support of their classmates and the realisation that her and Jack were not the outcasts that they had believed themselves to be. Opening her mouth, she had been just about to let fly with a few key messages that she had felt the bullies needed to hear when something had stopped her.

The sound of Jack's spoken voice had filled the tense silence. She had turned to face him and had watched as he bravely spoke up to their bullies to defend himself and her. She had felt the pride wash over her, knowing how big a deal it had been for Jack to use his voice in front of people and to leave himself vulnerable. The fact that he had used his voice in front of the same people that had made fun of him only a few months earlier had been incredibly courageous.

She had held her breath. Beside her, she had felt Anna stiffen as she had prepared to leap to their defense, but she hadn't needed to. Tyler had simply stared at Jack before he had shifted to look at the crowd surrounding them and had backed off. Instead, he had stormed out of the cafeteria.

Shifting, she turned to face Jack and waited for him to give her eye contact. "You were so freaking amazing today," she said. "I just can't believe how brave you were today."

She watched as Jack gave her a weak grin before he shook his head and exhaled loudly.

"It will never fully stop, Elsa," he said, glumly. "You should get out now before it is too late. You know, before your life is completely ruined because of me."

Frowning, she reached to flick through her ASL book to ensure that she had understood. It was obvious to her that something was troubling Jack and seemingly making him doubt himself. "What do you mean?" she asked.

He sighed and reached over to push a strand of her hair behind her ear before he leaned back against the couch and lowered his head.

Shifting closer, she tapped his leg and waited for him to look up. "Explain," she ordered. "Please, be honest and tell me what you mean. I am confused and worried."

Opening his mouth, he sighed. "So long as you are with me, you are going to have to deal with bullies," he spoke. "There has always been people who judge me. People who think that I am stupid, or that I can't do shit because I'm Deaf. People that think that I can't like normal things, or that they need to pity me. I've dealt with it my entire life. I'm used to people staring at me. I'm used to Emily's friends getting weirded out by me. I'm used to being judged. Hell, even my own grandparents judged me and said that I could never be a proper man. You don't deserve this life, Elsa."

She sighed. Looking at him, she noticed the trace of tears in his eyes. She knew that he had faced a lot of ignorance and some cruelty over the course of his life. There had been the obviously nasty comments from people like Tyler and his gang and the more subtle judgement from those who felt him to be less capable than anyone else.

"Jack," she began. "Those people will always exist, but they don't matter. Not in the long run because we have each other and our friends and family."

He shook his head. "Yeah, but so long as you are with me, you will be different, Elsa," he spoke. "I love you more than anything, but I don't want to be a burden to you. If you continue to be with me, your life will not be normal. You will always deal with ignorant people and a few nasty people. You would have to live in a home which was different. Things like the alarm clock, doorbell, even how you watched TV- all different. Picture this, Elsa. Years down the track, when we have kids then I won't be able to hear our kids cry. I will never hear their first word. I will never know if they have a nice singing voice, or hear them laugh. You don't deserve this life, Elsa. You deserve happiness, success and everything you want."

She watched as Jack buried his head in his hands. A soft sob escaped his lips. She had suspected that he had been holding back on her and that something had been troubling him in regards to their relationship and it appeared that today he had finally reached breaking point.

Two things had stuck out to her in what he had said. The first was that he still felt insecure about their relationship because of his Deafness and the second was that he clearly wanted a future with her and had thought about what their life could be like. Pausing, she reached out to gently stroke his leg while she contemplated her response.

She couldn't blame him for feeling the way he did. If the situation was reversed than she would likely feel the same. He was right that their life together would include some slight modifications that hearing homes didn't have. If they had children then he wouldn't hear their kids voices, but their children would still communicate with him. Family movie outings would always be to cinemas where closed captioning was offered. She would always have to explain to well-meaning people that Jack was Deaf. However, all the modifications paled in comparison to what she would have with Jack. He wasn't just her best friend, he was the man she was in love with and she couldn't imagine her life without him in it.

Leaning over, she tapped him on the shoulder and called his attention back to her. "Jack, I don't care about ignorant people or bullies or the modifications that would be in our home. All of those are nothing compared to the chance to be with the guy I love forever. I love you," she began. "Hell, I've learned sign language and have taught my family to sign so they can communicate with you. I want to be with you and only you. If that means that we have a modified house then you best start planning for those modifications now. You're not getting rid of me that easily."

She watched as a small smile crept over his face. Grinning, she shuffled closer to him and threw her arms around him. If she was honest, she would have told him that she had no idea what her future held. The career path that she had initially considered pursuing had changed and she had now applied for an entirely different course. The only thing she knew was that she wanted Jack beside her for the good days and the days. So long as she had him in her life, she had it all.

* * *

><p><strong>AN- Thank you all for your continued support, reviews, comments etc. In case you're wondering, this story is indeed wrapping up with only 2 more chapters to go. I am in the process of planning another story though, and one shot ideas are always propping up in my mind.  
><strong>


	15. Chapter 15

Elsa grinned. Her eyes glanced at her reflection in the mirror while she carefully adjusted the light blue babydoll dress and black flats that she had chosen to wear.

Once she was satisfied with her appearance, she turned to grab her carry-bag which held her graduation gown and mortarboard. She slung the bag over her shoulder and cast one last look at her bedroom before stepping out of the door and making her way downstairs to the lounge room.

Slowly, she made her way towards a display of family photographs. Her eyes settled on a picture that her parents had dug out recently to display. Smiling, she picked the frame up and looked at the photo. The captured image caught her five-year-old self all ready for her first day of school. Her platinum-blonde hair had been tied in pigtails and on her back was a large back which was far too big for her younger self. Still, she had been determined that she was a big-girl and had refused to let her mum carry it. Sighing, she looked at the empty space in the frame that had been left blank in preparation for the photo that would be taken today, on her very last day of school.

Placing the photo down, she moved on to a more recent one. A framed shot of her and Jack from before the prom. Picking it up, she lightly traced her fingers over their outlines. A small smile graced her lips as she thought back to the night they had spent in each others arms, dancing and making out.

"He really changed your life, didn't he?" Anna asked quietly as she moved to stand beside her.

She nodded and placed the photo back on the display table. "He did, he really did, Anna. It still seems surreal to me to think of how much he has changed my life in only a matter of months," she admitted, blushing slightly.

She still couldn't believe how different her life had become, simply because of Jack. If you had asked her ten months ago, her goals had been simple. She had wanted to finish her schooling, having begrudgingly accepted her fate to spend the year in the United States. Once the school year had finished, she had planned to return home to Arendelle and study at one of the local universities. She had not planned on making friends in the USA, nor falling in love. She had thought it would be useless to make friends in the USA as they would only be people who she'd have to say tearful goodbyes to when she returned to Norway.

Then she had met Jack and had found someone who truly understood her. He knew what it was like to feel ignored and unwelcome at their school and to be bullied mercilessly. Somehow, they had managed to move past their initial wariness of each other to form a friendship and later, a romantic relationship.

The very thought of her having a boyfriend still made her blush. She had never been one who considered romance or dating, that had always been Anna's area of expertise. Her younger sister had always been the boy-crazy one and was constantly discussing her latest crush, or planning her future wedding. She had always remained more reserved and had focused more on her studies, reading, movies and the odd video game for fun. The very idea that she could turn to mush at the thought of a boy, or fall in love had seemed foreign to her. Jack had changed that.

Even her career choices had changed thanks to Jack. Prior to meeting him, she had thought of applying to study law or journalism in Arendelle. Then Jack had entered her life and through him she had learned about Deaf culture. She had discovered that she had skills in communicating via sign language. As her knowledge had grown, so had her awareness of the roles translators played in assisting Deaf people. Not only did they help students like Jack, but they also assisted in everyday life such as emergency bulletins, or attending any appointments that a client may have.

She had been shy when she had first approached Mrs Frost, but to her relief the older woman had been supportive. Mrs Frost had told her that she was well on her way to becoming fluent in ASL and had suggested that she talked with Hans. She had then sought out Hans and had asked him how he had gained the skills needed to work as an interpreter. To her delight, he had been incredibly helpful and had provided her with pamphlets and the addresses of websites that would assist her.

The day that she had found out that she had been accepted into Beaconsfield University's B.S of American Sign Language/ English Interpreting course had been one of the happiest of her life. She had received the letter and had waited long enough to tell her parents before she had raced out the door and had run the few blocks that separated her and Jack's house. Once at the Frost's house, she had presented her letter of acceptance to Jack and Mrs Frost who had wrapped her in a hug and had insisted that she stayed for a special celebratory dinner. The day had been made extra special because Jack had received his acceptance into a B.A in Elementary Education at Gallamet University, a well respected university which focused on providing an education to Deaf students.

"You know, I wasn't going to stay in the USA. I was meant to finish the year of school here and then return home to Arendelle for uni. I had it all planned out. I was going to live with Grandma and Grandpa," she murmured, shaking her head at the thought.

"And then came Jack," Anna added, flinging her arm around her waist. "See, maybe moving here wasn't such a bad thing. Think of it, Els, we've got the best of both worlds. We have a home in the USA with people who love us and a home in Norway and loved ones back there."

She nodded. "You're right. We do. We have two homes," she agreed.

"Alright, that's enough mush from you. You are not allowed to be mushy today. Mum and Mrs Frost are going to be bad enough. They will be sitting together and crying about how their babies are growing up," Anna teased. "Also, we need to get photo's of you and Jack. We also need to get some family photo's and pictures of you and Jack in your graduation gowns, which, I might add, I am totally going to call a dress simply to annoy your boyfriend."

She chuckled and stepped out of Anna's grip as she made her way to find their parents. She knew that her mum was going to be a blubbering mess, but she was more than ready to farewell one chapter of her life. She wanted to take that next step.

* * *

><p>Jack could feel his excitement building as his eyes fell on Elsa, standing with her family. Turning around, he urged his mum and sister to hurry up as they made their way along the footpath out the front of his school<p>

He had talked with Elsa the night before and they had agreed to meet out the front of the school. Her parents and his mum wanted to take a photo of their graduating children in front of the main school building before they had to head inside to the auditorium where the graduation ceremony was being held.

He could scarcely believe that he had made it to his graduation. When he had first transferred to Burgess High School, he had hated it. The idea of being forced to attend a mainstream school where he would be the lone Deaf student and had to rely on an interpreter, had been nerve-wracking. Then had come the bullying which had left him feeling scared and intimidated. He had felt lonely, separated not only by communication troubles, but also the belief that he was nothing more than an outcast and hated by the students of his new school.

Then Elsa had come into his life. She had moved from Norway and had been suffering similar bullying. She had been teased for the minor mistakes she had made in speaking English and for her appearance. Although, he had long since come to the conclusion that Violet had targeted her primarily out of Jealousy. Elsa was incredibly beautiful and held a natural beauty that girls like Violet could never achieve. Regardless of Violet's reasons for tormenting Elsa, it still didn't take away the shame and hurt that she had felt and the way she had come to fear school.

The day they had met had changed his life. In Elsa he had found someone who understood the loneliness that he had felt at their new school, the fear that the bullies had instilled in him, a friend and eventually, a girlfriend.

It still surprised him to think that he, Jack Frost, had a girlfriend. Growing up he had always been too focused on having fun and spending time with his family. Relationships were something that other people had. People like Aster and Tia who had finally realised that they liked each other two years earlier and had gone on to form a solid romance built on friendship, respect and love. When the time came that he had realised that he was falling hard and fast for his best friend, it had shocked him.

Now, all he knew was that she was a part of his life and he never wanted to let her go. They may still be young, but he couldn't imagine being with anyone else but Elsa. She had been his first kiss, his first love and he was determined that she would be his only love. Sure, he'd had his share of worries. His insecurities had left him to fear that Elsa wouldn't want to be with him long term. He had feared that the way their lives would differ to that of a hearing couple would eventually drive them apart.

It had taken a lot for him to admit his fears to Elsa five weeks ago, but he had done it and it had allowed them to move forward with Elsa. She had wasted no time in taking him aside and pointing out how much she loved him. She had then claimed that she didn't want to spend her life with anyone but him.

His mother had playfully smacked him around the head when she had learned of his insecurities about the future of his and Elsa's relationship. She had pointed out that it was painfully obvious that Elsa was as in love with him and as devoted to him as he was to her. She had also gone on to mention that the modifications that Elsa would be expected to live with, were the exact same ones that she had made upon learning that he was Deaf and she'd had no issues making those changes because she loved him.

Glancing up, he felt his smile growing wider as he stepped closer to Elsa. His eyes flicked over her, taking in the sight of her light blue dress and her hair which she had left loose to drape over her shoulders.

"You look beautiful as always," he said, blushing.

"Thank you," Elsa replied, blushing slightly. "You look great as well."

Grinning, he moved to smooth down the black dress shirt which he had chosen to wear along with his dark blue jeans.

He was just about to reach out to take Elsa's hand to pull her out of sight of their families and steal a kiss, when he was interrupted by a tap on the shoulder.

"I want to see you in your dress," Anna teased, pointing at the bag which held his graduation gown.

He groaned and rolled his eyes. "It's not a dress, Anna." he protested, poking his tongue out.

"It is too!" Anna shot back, smirking.

"Even if it was a dress, I'd still look more manly than all five One Direction girls put together," he teased, watching as Emily translated the unknown words to Anna.

"You take that back, Jack Frost!" Anna shot back.

He smirked. He couldn't hold back the laugh that escaped his mouth at the horrified looks on Anna and Emily's faces at the insult he'd thrown at their beloved boy band. Turning around, he focused his attention on Elsa and winked at her upon noticing the amused expression on her face.

* * *

><p>Elsa blushed. Slowly, she made her way from her seat towards the stage. Climbing the stairs, she took extra care to not step on the hem of her long gown. Taking a deep breath, she made her way across the stage. She paused to shake hands with the principal and turned to hold her certificate of graduation up so that her parents could snap a photo before making her way back to her seat beside Jack.<p>

Sitting down, she reached over and gripped Jack's hand. She smiled as he leaned over to press a kiss to her cheek before he returned his attention to Hans, who was sitting alongside the principal, translating.

They had been lucky that their teachers had set aside a few rows of seats at the front of the auditorium for the graduating students. Initially, she had been worried that they would be forced to sit in alphabetical order, with her and Jack being separated, but that hadn't been the case. Instead, the teachers had allowed them to sit wherever they liked, so long as it was in the designated senior rows. Her and Jack had taken a seat in the front row which allowed them to focus on the stage and to ignore the sight of Violet and Tyler, who sat scowling in the third row.

The last few weeks had been considerably better as far as their bullies had been concerned. Ever since the confrontation in the cafeteria, they had backed down and had only resorted to the odd glare in the hallway. She had feared that Violet and Tyler would target them at lunch, but they hadn't. They had even been left alone in class with both of them finding that they now had classmates who took it upon themselves to sit beside them in class.

The sound of Jack's name being called, snapped her from her thoughts. Grinning, she watched as he stood to his feet and made his way up the stage. He stopped briefly to high-five Hans before he accepted his certificate. She couldn't help but giggle when Jack shook his head which caused his mortarboard to fall off. Turning around, he flashed the audience his lopsided grin and flung them a thumbs up.

She watched as he moved back towards the seat. "You always have to do things your own way, don't you?" she teased, beaming at him.

"The crowd loved it," Jack bragged, winking at her. "What can I say, I'm a people-pleaser."

Rolling her eyes, she playfully swatted him before shifting her seat closer and resting her head on his shoulder while the remainder of their classmates were called onto the stage.

* * *

><p>Jack wrapped his arms around Elsa's waist and pulled her closer before resting his head on her shoulder and breathing in her scent.<p>

He couldn't believe that they had done it. They had actually graduated and were no longer school students. After a long and boring ceremony filled with a lot of speeches that had left him wanting to snooze, they had been released. The younger grades had been sent to class while the graduates and their families had been sent into the school gymnasium where a series of tables with refreshments had been set up.

To his relief, Tyler and Violet had not stuck around. He had watched as they had ran out after snatching their certificate. He'd glanced over his shoulder and had seen them slinking out the doors. They hadn't even bothered to stay for the remainder of the ceremony.

He felt Elsa's hand reach up to stroke at his cheek before moving to cup his chin. Gently, she lifted his head and directed his eyes to Hans. Grinning, he let go of her and moved to shake hands with Hans and his partner, Tim. He'd been introduced to Tim earlier while Hans had snapped their photo's. The young man had come up to him and had signed to let him know that it was about time he met the student that his boyfriend had been raving about.

"So, this is where we say goodbye," Hans said, frowning. "I'm not going to lie. I will miss you, mate. You've been a joy to work with."

He nodded. Thanks, Hans. Thank you for being there for me and for all your work," he replied. "I don't think that I'd have handled my time here quite as well if I didn't have you, or Elsa."

"You did it all by yourself, Jack," Hans pointed out. "You're a smart guy and you are going to make one hell of a teacher. I am so excited for your future. For both your and Elsa's futures. The two of you are going to do great things."

Blushing, he watched as his mum moved to stand beside him. She pulled out a small card and a gift that they had purchased for Hans and handed it to him

He grinned and handed the gift over, letting Hans know that he had been the one who had chosen the gift. He watched as Hans' eyes widened as he unwrapped the paper to reveal the small Spiderman figurine.

"You remembered?" Hans asked. "I can't believe you remembered. I told you that Spidey was my favourite superhero during our first week working together. All these months later and you remembered!"

"How could I forget. You are clearly deluded. I've already told you that everyone knows the two best Marvel characters are Wolverine and Loki," he sassed.

He watched as Hans furrowed his brow while he considered his response. He couldn't deny that he was going to miss seeing him during the week. He had come to enjoy the rapport he'd had with his interpreter.

"Oh, before I forget," Hans began. "Strictly speaking, I shouldn't be doing this. However, as of now, you are no longer my client and I feel no guilt in saying that I have a little something for you. Well, it's for both you and Elsa."

Tilting his head, he watched as Hans dug into his pocket and pulled out a gift card for a nearby restaurant. "Here," Hans said, handing him the card. "There is fifty dollars on this card. I want you to take your girlfriend out on a date- just her and you. The pair of you deserve a nice night out for all the work that you have done this year."

"Thank you," Jack replied, pocketing the gift card.

"You're welcome," Hans said. "Just promise me that you two will keep in contact. Your mum has my email address and I know that both Tim and I would would love to hear how the two of you are doing."

He nodded and reached out to pull Elsa towards him.

"Also," Hans continued. "Tim and I expect that we will get an invite to your wedding, because lets face it, you two are made for each other. Plus, I kind of figure that I should be at the wedding. Especially seeing as I called it before the two of you had even realised that you had feelings for each other.

He watched as Hans frowned and stepped away from his partner before beckoning for him to follow. Turning around, he pressed a quick kiss to Elsa's cheek before excusing himself.

"Listen, mate," Hans began. "I just want to say, all jokes aside, that working with you has been great. I couldn't have asked for a better young man to assist. I am so proud of you, of everything that you have achieved. I'm so proud of all the great changes that you've experienced over the last year. I'm proud to have been there to witness you getting into university, meeting Elsa and then to see you standing up to your bullies. I want you to remember that you are more than capable of anything and everything you want. Don't let anyone ever tell you that you can't do something, or that you don't deserve what you want, because you can and you do. You are a great man, Jack Frost, and the future is yours for the taking."

* * *

><p>Elsa smiled. Leaning back, she pressed herself against Jack's chest while sipping on a cold drink.<p>

After a long day, they had finally returned to her house. Their parents had expressed interest in continuing the celebration and had given her and Jack the choice of how and where they wished to celebrate. Together, her and Jack had looked at each other and had asked for a simple barbeque in her family's backyard. They had preferred to celebrate in a relaxed atmosphere with their loved ones and had invited Aster and Tia to come over. It had been the only way they had seen fit to celebrate their special day.

They had left that morning as school students and had returned mid afternoon as graduates. One part of their life had officially ended and had made way for their future. She couldn't deny that the future seemed intimidating. She would have to get used to not attending university with Jack. Instead, she would have to travel the forty minutes to her campus while Jack remained at home. He had opted to study his course externally as opposed to moving interstate. Still, she knew that they would get through it and that she would see him regularly. They had already made a pact to try and not go a day without seeing each other.

"Come with me," Jack spoke, his mouth hovering by her ear.

Nodding, she placed her empty can on the ground before disentangling herself from his arms. She watched as he stood up and signed to let their friends and families know that they would be back in a minute. Taking his hand, he led her indoors and into the lounge room before sliding the door shut behind them.

"Jack," she warned. "If my father knows that we are in a room alone together with a closed door, he will get mad."

"Relax, El. I just want to talk to you. I want a moment to ourselves. We haven't had that all day," he replied.

She watched as he closed the gap between them and threw his arms around her waist, pulling her closer to him. "I love you," he spoke. "I don't ever think I can get over how grateful I am for you, for the fact that you came into my life. I know that if it hadn't been for you, my last year of school would have been hell, but then you came, and changed my life for the better."

She felt like she could melt. She was blown away by the kindness and sincerity of Jack's words. She knew exactly how he felt. It was exactly the same as how she felt about him. He had been the best part of her life so far. Frowning, she tried to think of a way to express herself and to tell Jack that she felt exactly the same without sounding too cheesy.

She felt his hand reach to stroke at her face and lightly cup her cheek before he leaned in to press a soft kiss on her lips. Moaning, she wrapped her arms around his neck and tightened her hold on him while he deepened the kiss. His tongue glided over her lips, begging for entrance which she granted. They stood in the centre of the room, sharing in kisses for a few minutes before she pulled away and rested her forehead against his.

Breaking apart, she looked at him. "I love you," she said. "You really are the best part of my life. I can't imagine my life without you."

Her eyes shifted towards the closed door and she sighed and stepped out of Jack's grip. "Now come on, lets go get some food before our friends and families eat it all."

Smirking, she grabbed his hand and tugged him in the direction of the backyard where their loved ones were waiting. Passing through the kitchen, her eyes glimpsed over the small Norwegian flag which sat on top of the fridge. The flag was a subtle reminder of her past and her homeland. She felt a squeeze on her hand as Jack indicated towards the back door and smiled. Norway was her home and her past, but Jack was her future.

* * *

><p><strong>AN- As always, thanks for your reviews, follows and support. The next chapter will be the very last one, although will likely post it after I've posted first chapter of my next Jelsa fic (Gah, I'm so addicted to these cuties!) .**

**In case you're wondering, whilst the universities they are attending are fake, they are based off of real universities and the courses they've been accepted into are real courses.**

**Elsa's university- dubbed Beaconsfield University is fake- but based off of Bloomsburg University in Pennsylvania, USA, which really does offer a BS in American Sign Language/ English Interpreting.**

**Jack's university- dubbed Gallamet University, is actually based off of Gallaudet University and is a university which caters for Deaf students, and Jack's course, which will enable him to be an Elementary school teacher, is a real course.**


	16. Chapter 16

**Four and a half years later**

Jack yawned. Rolling over, he reached for the alarm on the bedside table and let out a groan when he noticed that it was only 6am. Sighing, he slipped out of bed, taking care to not wake Elsa who was still fast asleep.

Smiling, he leaned down to gently stroke a strand of loose hair from her face. She looked so peaceful while asleep. He could never get used to her beauty, not even after five years of dating. It still blew him away that she was his and that someone so beautiful, so pure, had fallen for a dork like him. He yearned to kiss her, to lean down and smother every inch of her perfect face with kisses, but he couldn't. Not without waking her up and of all the days she needed her sleep, it was today.

Shaking his head, he took a step back and leaned down to grab his t-shirt from the floor. He pulled it over his head and caught sight of himself in the mirror. Leaning in, he breathed in a sigh of relief when he noticed that no hickeys had appeared on his body as a result of the night before. He ran a finger through his messy hair and moved to open Elsa's bedroom door, taking care to close it slowly behind him.

Making his way downstairs, he could see the dim light from within the kitchen. He leaned on the doorframe and watched as Walt Andersen fixed himself a cup of coffee. He wasn't surprised to see the Andersen patriarch awake early. The man was the very definition of an early riser and was always up before sunrise, regardless of whether he had work that day or not.

"Ready for today?" he spoke, stepping towards the cupboard and grabbing a clean mug for himself.

Walt turned and yawned slightly before placing his cup of coffee down on the bench. "Morning, Jack," he greeted. "I should be asking you that question, don't you think?"

He grinned and poured some coffee into his mug before moving to take a seat at the table. He watched as Walt took the seat opposite him. "I couldn't sleep. There was too much on my mind and I didn't want to wake El," he spoke, pausing to take a sip of his drink. "I just hope that it all goes to plan."

"It will," Walt smiled. "I know how my daughter feels about you. You're her whole world. She loves you," he paused, stopping to think before he continued signing. "So, is the plan still the same?"

He nodded. Turning his head, he made sure that Elsa hadn't woken and made her way down stairs in the last few minutes. "Pretty much," he admitted. "I wanted to get myself up on stage and ask her, but she would hate such a public display. I'm going to wait until after the ceremony when everyone is heading from the auditorium to the hall for refreshments. I'll pull her aside, find a private place and ask."

Walt smiled and finished his coffee before standing up. "Sounds good to me. She's going to be in for quite the surprise today, what with her grandparents flying in to see her and this," he said.

He gulped and watched as Walt placed his empty mug in the sink and headed for the door. "What if she says no?" he spoke, his voice trembling.

Walt paused and turned on the spot to face him. "She won't, Jack. I know it," he replied. "That said, I also know how nerve-wracking proposing is, so I wish you good luck."

He smiled and raised his hand to give Walt a small salute before finishing his coffee. His eyes scanned the Andersen's kitchen, taking in the familiar sight of the house that had become his second home over the last five years. The walls were lined with photo's documenting their lives and achievements. The pictures from his and Elsa's graduation photo had recently moved. It had been placed into a larger frame to accommodate Anna's photo from her own first day of school as well as the photo from Anna's recent high school graduation, where she had posed with her partner of two years, Kristoff.

His eyes glanced over another photo, one of his family and the four Andersen's on a holiday weekend and he smiled. He still couldn't believe the way him and his family had been accepted by the Andersen's.

Over the last five years, the two families had continued to grow closer and had spent holidays and special events together. He had even accompanied Elsa on a trip to Arendelle for her 21st birthday, where he had met her childhood friends and had seen the place she had grown up in. When Lillian Andersen had changed her visa status so that she could work, it had been his mother that had helped her to get a job at the restaurant where she worked. Together, him, Elsa, his mother and Emily had continued to teach the remaining Andersen's how to sign and their skills had improved to the point where they could hold a variety of conversations with different people. Still, despite their families' closeness, he had felt nervous when he had approached Walt Andersen a few months earlier.

The decision to propose to Elsa had been made three years when they had celebrated their second anniversary. He had known that he wanted to spend the rest of his life with her by his side, but the timing had to be right. Planning a wedding took a lot of time and energy. It would have been a major commitment that would have distracted them from their studies. So, he had waited and had saved his money and had decided to leave it until they had both graduated. He had known that Elsa would likely agree to the simplest of weddings, but not him. She was his queen and he wanted her to have one day where she could be lavished with attention and celebrated.

He had approached Walt Andersen three months earlier to seek permission to propose. Experience had taught him that Walt favoured old-fashioned values and he respected that. He had also been aware that Walt had already made some changes in allowing him to spend the night in Elsa's room and for Elsa to sleep over at his house. Therefore, he had felt that the least he could do was show him the respect he deserved. After all, if all went to plan the man would become his father-in-law. To his relief, Walt had been more than happy for him to pop the question. He had even gone so far as to help suss out Elsa's ring size which had helped in the purchasing of the ring.

Sighing, he stood up. Quickly, he finished the last of his coffee and placed the empty cup in the sink. He trudged up the stairs. Pressing down on the handle, he pushed his way into Elsa's room. He felt his heart melting upon noticing that she was still asleep and had only shifted a few inches to lie in the spot that he had vacated. Stealing one last glance at her, he left the room and crossed the hallway to enter the vacant bathroom.

Switching the taps on, he carefully adjusted the water to his preferred temperature before peeling his clothes off and stepping into the shower cubicle. As usual, he found that his mind wandered under the gentle spray of the shower.

He still couldn't believe the direction that his life had taken in only a short number of years. To this day, there was a part of him that felt like the 18-year-old, who had just graduated high school with his girlfriend by his side. However, he wasn't that boy anymore.

Today, he was a 23-year-old-man, a graduate with a BA in Elementary Education from Gallamet University and supporting his long-term girlfriend as she graduated. If all went to plan, then by night time he would also be a fiance.

The decision to study his course offline had been easy. Not only was it cheaper to stay at home and study instead of moving interstate, but it also enabled him to continue to see Elsa on a daily basis. Thankfully, between his mother and Elsa, he had managed to stay on task and had ignored the various temptations that studying at home held. He had managed to pass his classes as well as maintain his relationship and had held down a part-time job for the last three years.

As promised, both him and Elsa had maintained email contact with Hans. They had filled his former interpreter in on their lives post school. They had only been out of school for a year when Hans had emailed them to inform them that he had quit his job and was opening a restaurant with his husband, Tim, a celebrated chef. The restaurant, which he had named 'Fast Hands' was to be staffed primarily with Deaf staff members. Restaurant diners would be provided with menus depicting the signs the'd need to order the various items, or could simply point if they did not feel comfortable to attempt signing. Hans had been adamant that he should apply for a job and had mentioned that his application was only a formality and that a position would always be available for him.

Thankfully, the restaurant had proven to be a success. He had jumped at the chance to earn some money and had even helped his friends, Aster, Tia and Sandy to secure a position there. The pay was decent and Hans had always been respectful of his part-time student employees. He had always made sure to schedule their shifts so that they weren't running themselves ragged trying to balance work and their studies. He had been smart with the money he had earned and had put most of it towards paying board, or saving it to purchase a small car which had given him more independence and had made it easier for him to see Elsa when he wanted.

* * *

><p>Elsa stirred. Stretching her arms out, she slowly opened her eyes and blinked as traces of the early morning sunlight filtered past the blinds. She reached over, grasping for Jack only to find his spot empty.<p>

Frowning, she sat up. Her eyes shifted to the alarm clock and she noticed that it was just shy of 7am. Reaching out, she went to disable the alarm, but it had already been turned off. Her eyes fell on the post-it note placed next to her phone and the scrawled message from Jack, telling her that he was in the shower. She shrugged, it wasn't like him to be up early. In the five years that they had spent together, she had learnt that Jack Frost favoured his sleep. Jack was so fond of his sleep that she had taken to setting two alarms, twenty minutes apart. The first alarm acted as a warm up and helped him ease into the idea of getting up. The second served as the final warning and told him that he had to get up or risk being late.

It was clear to her that something was off with Jack. The night before he had seemed skittish and had constantly checked the pockets of his suit jacket, which he had opted to wear to her graduation. When she had asked, he had blown her off and had told her that he was worried about the stitching on the pockets. She had chuckled and had offered to fix it, at which point he had refused. He had leapt to his feet and had taken the jacket to her mother and had stated that he had asked her mother to fix it.

She had thought that the suit jacket had been the last of it, until later in the evening when he had disappeared into her father's study and had been held up in conversation for over an hour. When he had emerged, he had offered her little explanation on the topic of their conversation.

Shrugging, she got up and shuffled towards the door. She could hear the sounds of the house slowly coming to life. Pulling open her door, she narrowly avoided colliding with her father as he brushed past her.

"Morning, El," he called, not even bothering to stop."Can't talk now. I will be home in about thirty minutes. We'll talk when I get home, love you."

Opening her mouth, she went to call out to him, but he had gone. The sound of the front door opening and closing could be heard. Yawning, she turned and headed towards the bathroom. Her eyes fell on the handle and she noticed that the small sign they used to signal when Jack was in the bathroom was on display. Smiling, she turned and headed downstairs.

Entering the kitchen, she set about pulling out a mug for coffee and flicked the kettle on. She moved to grab the milk from the fridge. She could feel her stomach rumbling with hunger as she stopped to consider her breakfast options. She was just about to open the fridge when the sight of a note taped to the fridge caught her eye. Leaning closer, she saw her father's messy handwriting telling the house's occupants to refrain from organising breakfast. He explained that he would bring them back something special in a few minutes. Shrugging, she reached in and grabbed the milk.

She had only just taken a seat at the table when Anna ran in, dragging a yawning Kristoff behind her. "Oh my gosh, Elsa. Today is the day. I am so freaking excited for you. I can't believe that you are graduating uni. Where is Jack?" she shrieked, barely stopping to catch a breath before she flung her arms around her neck.

Grinning, she pulled herself out of Anna's grip. "Slow down, Anna," she giggled. "I know that it's exciting. Jack is in the shower. He woke before I did, which is weird. What makes it even weirder is that he decided to actually get up, instead of going to sleep. It seems like everyone is acting a bit different today."

She watched as Anna took a step back and shot a quick glance at Kristoff, who shook his head.

"You know, I've been dating Anna for what, two years now and it still amazes me how different, yet similar the two of you are. I mean, your hair looks neat in the morning and Anna's..well just look it at it," he said, his lips curling into a grin as he pointed to Anna's tangled strawberry-blonde hair.

She grinned and ran a hand over her own, considerably tidier, platinum-blonde locks and watched as Anna started to bicker playfully with her boyfriend. She still couldn't shake the feeling that something was amiss in her home. Not with the way both Jack and her father  
>had acted, or the way Anna was currently acting. Her sister was normally excitable, but from the small looks she was sharing with Kristoff, it was apparent that there was something going on.<p>

"Okay, something is going on. What is it?" she asked, narrowing her eyes at she looked between her sister and Kristoff. "What is it that you're not telling me?"

"Nothing, Elsa" Anna and Kristoff chorused simultaneously.

She frowned and let out an exasperated sigh before turning to focus her attention back to her coffee. Out of the corner of her eye, she watched as Kristoff nudged Anna and beckoned her to accompany him out of the room. Her sister willingly obliged and raced out of the room at an alarmingly fast speed.

Sighing, she shifted her attention to the photo's which hung from the wall. Her first and last day of school photo had been shifted to a bigger frame to make space for Anna's first and last day of school photo's. She stifled a laugh, looking at the contrast between her and Anna's last day of year 12 photo's. Like her own, Anna's picture featured her and her boyfriend in the photo. However, that was where the similarities ended. Unlike her own photo, where she had opted for a simple pose with Jack's arm draped around her waist, Anna had decided that she ought to be snapped climbing on Kristoff's back with a cheeky grin on her face. She had remembered the day that her mother had added the photo to her frame. She had made a point to mention how they had some nicer, less goofy photo's of her sister that could be included, but her mother had shook her head and smiled. She had claimed that this was the picture that best captured Anna in all her essence and that was what she had wanted to display.

Smiling, she glanced between the photo of Anna and the real Anna who was engaged in an animated discussion, just out of earshot. Her mother had been right. The photo did capture Anna perfectly.

* * *

><p>Jack turned off the taps and brought the stream of warm water to a halt. Stepping out of the shower, he grabbed his towel and patted himself down before reaching for his toothbrush.<p>

He could feel himself becoming nervous, knowing that Elsa would likely be awake and he'd have to get through the morning ,while trying to act as normal as possible to avoid arousing suspicion. Admittedly, he had found it difficult to hide the surprise from her. Elsa was smart and he knew that she had found it odd when he had refused to let her 'fix' his jacket. However, it was the place where he had stored the ring and he could not risk her sharp eyes picking up on the slight bulge from the jewellery box. Thankfully, Lillian had come to his assistance and had told him to give the excuse that the lining of his suit pocket was showing signs of wear and tear and needed fixing.

He also knew that she would be surprised that he had woken before her and had proceeded to get up. Elsa would have been left scratching his head at that one. He loved his sleep and Elsa knew it.

Still, it had to be done. He wanted the day to be perfect for her in every sense of the word. He just hoped that the surprise appearance of her grandparents before breakfast would be enough to ease her suspicions and lead her to believe that that had been the big secret that was being kept from her.

Stepping out of the bathroom, he padded across the hall to Elsa's room and noted that the door was wide open. Closing the door, he pulled out the black dress pants he had chosen to wear and pulled them on before tossing his old t-shirt on over his bare chest. Grabbing his brush, he pulled it through her hair in the hopes that he could appear at least somewhat presentable for Elsa's grandparents when they arrived.

After spritzing a bit of cologne on him, he stepped out. He caught sight of Anna, who was pushing Kristoff into the empty bathroom along with a change of clothes.

"Are your grandparents here yet?" he spoke, watching as Anna turned to face him, a wide grin on her face.

"No, but Elsa's getting suspicious. Kristoff had to pull me out of the kitchen. I can't handle keeping secrets from her, Jack. I mean, the grandparent thing is one thing, but the other surprise...Jack, this day needs to go fast," she whined.

He chuckled. His eyes darted downstairs to make sure that Elsa wasn't likely to come up and catch his and Anna's conversation. "It's just a few more hours, Anna. You can do it," he pointed out. "Besides, if you hadn't been snooping then you'd not have to worry about holding back on the other thing."

He watched as Anna's eyes widened and a grin appeared on her face before she stopped to poke her tongue out at him. "Hey!" she protested. "You know, ordinarily I'd come up with a good comeback. You know, defend my honour and all that, but today I am going to be nice and let it slide. Besides, I need to grab the camera ready to capture Elsa's face when Dad and our grandparents walk in."

He gave her a small salute and left her. Heading downstairs, he made his way into the kitchen where Elsa was sipping her coffee with her head bent over the morning paper.

"Hey," he spoke, draping his arms around her shoulders. "Morning, gorgeous."

* * *

><p>Elsa jumped. Turning her head, she faced Jack and noticed the shy grin on his face. Smiling, she tilted her head and lifted her lips to meet his, stealing a quick kiss.<p>

Pulling back, she shifted her chair to face him. "Hey, you were up early. Is everything okay?" she asked.

"Yeah, fine," he replied, giving her a nervous smile before running his hands through his hair.

She frowned and pursed her lips as she considered her response. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw her mum creep in, followed by Anna who had her beloved camera in her hands and looked like she was struggling to contain herself from saying something.

"Okay, what is going on?" she asked, shifting her eyes from her boyfriend, to her mother and sister. She noticed the way the three of them shared a quick look before shaking their head at her.

She groaned and stood to her feet. Moving to the sink, she placed her empty cup in the sink. She could hear the sound of the front door opening and her father's voice sounding through the house as he announced his return. She paused, her eyes caught the sight of her mum as she signed to Jack, letting him know that 'they were here.'

Shaking her head, she left the room and stormed into the hallway. Her eyes widened as she recognised the four elderly people who stood beaming behind her father.

"Nanna, Poppa, Grandma, Grandpa!" she gasped, blushing as Jack appeared in the corner of her eyes, reminding her that in her surprise, she had forgotten to sign.

"Hi, Elsa," her paternal grandfather cooed. "I hope that you don't mind. It is not every day that your eldest granddaughter graduates university. Your father and boyfriend contacted us and asked us if we wanted to come. Naturally, we said yes. We are all so proud of you."

Stepping forward, she allowed herself to be pulled into a hug by her grandparents. She could scarcely believe that they were here, in her home. The flash of a camera momentarily blinded her as Anna darted around, capturing the moment. Pulling back, she turned to glance at Jack and noticed the way he was looking at her with a smile on his face as he gazed from underneath his tousled hair.

"Surprise" he signed. "I love you."

Blushing, she stepped aside to wrap her arms around Jack. She buried her head against his chest as the tears streamed from her face. Suddenly, his mysterious behaviour was explained. He had obviously been in cahoots with her father and apparently her grandparents.

She felt a tap on her shoulder. Frowning, she pulled back to face Anna. "I don't mean to break up the cute, fluffy moment, but Dad's brought food and I'm starving," she said, shifting to make sure that Jack could see her signs.

She nodded and stepped out of Jack's grasp as she followed Anna into the kitchen.

* * *

><p>Jack beamed as he leaned back in his chair and watched the interpreter translate the words that were being spoken.<p>

The morning had passed in a blur of excitement and tears. No sooner had Elsa recovered from the shock of both sets of grandparents being in her home, had his mother and sister arrived to join the Andersen's and their extended family for a breakfast of croissants, fruit and juice. They had then dressed before piling into three cars to make the trek to Beaconsfield University.

Arriving at the university, he had begrudgingly given Elsa a kiss on the lips before he'd parted and left her to sit up front with the graduating class. He had settled for a seat a few rows back with his mother, sister, the three remaining Andersen's, Kristoff and Elsa's grandparents. To their relief, the university had provided an interpreter to sign. Although, he had pointed out that it would be slightly ironic if the graduation ceremony for a course on ASL/ English Interpreting did not, in fact, provide an interpreter.

He felt a nudge and watched as Elsa's name was called. Slowly, she made her way up the steps and onto the stage. She had been so nervous in the months leading up to her graduation. At times, she had expressed concern that she would fail either in one of her courses, or in the knowledge exam for the National Deaf Interpreters Registry, which she was required to pass in order to successfully graduate. Naturally, as often was the case with Elsa, she had been worried for nothing and she had passed with brilliant grades.

He felt his smile widening as Elsa carefully made her way down the stairs. Her eyes remained fixed on him as she made her way back to her seat. He knew that she was nervous and that under the poised appearance which she displayed, lay a young girl, albeit a beautiful one, who had been slightly uncomfortable with the attention that had momentarily been placed on her. He knew that she was silently willing the rest of the ceremony to finish so that she could join him and her family. He also knew that she was breathing a sigh of relief and thinking that the day was practically over.

Reaching into his pocket, he tightened his hold on the small velvet box and said a silent apology to her for the fact that her big day was far from over.

* * *

><p>Elsa breathed in a sigh of relief as she settled back into her chair with her degree in hand.<p>

She had scarcely believed that she had made it. She, Elsa Andersen, was now a university graduate with a B.S in American Sign Language/ English Interpreting from Beaconsfield University. The last four years of study had been gruelling. Even with the help of Jack and the Frosts, she had still struggled. The assignments, essays and exams had all taken their toll and at times she had wondered if she would be able to pass at all.

In order to graduate, she had been required to sit a written exam with the National Deaf Interpreters Association which had tested her knowledge. With that exam passed, she was free to graduate. Although, she still needed to take the final skills based exam, which would enable her to be registered as an interpreter. She had spoken with Hans, who had assured her that with her knowledge, she had nothing to worry about. It was a message that Jack and Caroline Frost had echoed, but she still had her doubts.

Still, she had done it. She had passed and soon she would be free to leave. She knew that the university had set up some refreshments in an empty hall, but she didn't care. She simply wanted to wait for the remainder of her year to receive their degrees to stop for the standard graduating class photo and head home to celebrate with her loved ones.

Sighing, she focused her attention as the head of the department completed his speech and farewelled all graduating students, wishing them well in their future endeavors. She knew that a few rows back, Jack would be sitting bored out of his brain. She had hoped that they would have been allowed to return to sit with their loved ones once they had claimed their degree, but the answer had been no. The university had decided to make the graduates sit together to avoid the long wait as people made their way down the auditorium. Therefore, she had found herself in the front row, sitting next to someone with whom she had not spoken to once in the last four years with only the thought of escaping and rejoining her family and Jack to get her through.

Jack, just the thought of him was enough to keep her going. He had been her rock over the last few years. Initially, she had found it tough to get used to going through her studies without him even being on the same campus. Together, they had really had to work hard to ensure that they made time for each other. In the early days, they had taken to getting together for a morning walk before going their separate ways and reconvening when she had finished her last class. As their relationship had progressed, it had become easier and her father had agreed to allow them to spend the night in each other's bedrooms.

Over the last few years, she had found herself settling into a comfortable, but loving relationship with Jack. After they had left school, they had really blossomed. They had built a small, but tight group of friends with Jack's friends, Aster, Tia and Sandy. She had even had the chance to take him back home to Arendelle and show him the sights of her hometown.

What had surprised her the most was the fact that when it had come time to leave, she had been ready to head home. That was when it had hit her. Burgess had become her home. Wherever Jack and her family was, that was her home.

* * *

><p>Jack made his way through the crowd.<p>

His plan of pulling Elsa aside on the way to the refreshments hall hadn't quite gone to plan. The dean of the university had released the audience, but not without calling on all graduates to stay behind for a group photo which had taken the better part of 45 minutes. Once the official photo had been taken, the family members had piled in to take their own group photo.

Thankfully, Walt and Lillian Andersen had been quick to take their photo's and had made themselves scarce in order to give him the privacy that he needed.

His eyes fell on Elsa and he broke into a wide smile, noting that she had taken off her graduation gown and had folded it over her arm, leaving her in the light pink dress which she had selected to wear. Shaking his head, he smiled at her and extended his arm to link it through hers.

He led her out the doors and into the fresh air. He felt her hand tighten on his arm as they detoured from the path that led to the refreshment hall. Smirking, he turned to face her and watched as she dropped her hold on him.

"Jack, we are going the wrong way," she said, her eyes darting between him and the crowd in the distance.

He shook his head and took a few steps back to look at her. "No we're not," he replied. "Trust me."

Gripping her hand, he didn't bother to give her the chance to respond and proceeded to lead her towards a tree which provided some shade from the warm sun. Satisfied that he had found a private spot, he stopped and dropped her hand to face her. The confusion was evident on her face. He could see that she was torn between confronting him about his behaviour and just going with the flow and waiting to see what he had planned. Smirking, he leaned in and placed a quick kiss on her cheek before pulling back to look at her.

He watched as she opened her mouth to speak and shook his head. Raising his hand, he gently placed a finger over her lips, silencing her. Stepping back, he looked at her and took in the paleness of her face, the few light freckles which dusted her cheeks and her long, platinum-blonde hair which fell softly over her shoulders and framed her angelic face. He had already made the decision to use his speaking voice to propose. After all, he would need his hands free to hold her hands and to pull the ring out and slide it onto her finger. Reaching for her hands, he looked at her.

He had spent the last few weeks trying to come up with the perfect speech. He had consulted his mum, Walt, Aster and even Hans to find out what he should say. The only advice that they had given him was to go with his heart and think of all that she meant to him.

It had sounded simple enough, but standing in front of her with her blue eyes staring into his, he realised that he was wrong. There was never going to be enough words to truly convey what Elsa meant to him. She was his world, his entire reason for living. Every second of every day, he just fell more and more in love with her. He wanted to do everything in his power to give her the life that she deserved. He wanted to see her with the surname Frost. He wanted to leave for work in the morning, having said goodbye to her and to arrive home each night and hold her in his arms. He wanted a family with her. He wanted to spend his weekends doing housework or teaching their son to ride a bike, stopping only to hoist their daughter into his arms and twirl her around. Heck, he had even settled on the names and appearances of their future children. The boy, Lucas, would be born first. He would have his father's hair colour, but his mother's eyes. Their daughter would be called Charlotte and would have Elsa's hair colour, but his shade of blue eyes.

He felt Elsa squeeze his hands, willing him to say something. Gulping, he turned to face her.

"Elsa," he spoke. "They told me to write a note, to come up with all the things that you mean to me and the way you make me feel, but it's hard. I can never truly describe the way you make me feel, the way you are the most incredible, beautiful, intelligent, loving, kind, caring woman in the entire world or how you are not only the woman I love, but my best friend and the very reason I get up in the morning," he paused, stopping to clear his throat. "I really wanted to give you the perfect speech, because you are the perfect woman for me and I love you more than anything. I want you in my life forever. I want to live with you, to spend every day with you. I want you to be a Frost. I want your future children to have my surname, to have our surname."

He paused to watch as the tears began to form in the corners of Elsa's eyes. Blushing, he let go of her hand and fumbled in his pocket to pull out the box with the ring in it. Slowly, he knelt down and flicked open the velvet box to reveal the simple gold ring with a series of diamonds. He glanced up, watching as Elsa moved her hands to cover her mouth, the tears streaming down her face.

Taking a deep breath, he looked at her. "Will you marry me, Elsa?" he asked, glancing at her.

Slowly he stood up, watching as Elsa burst into tears and nodded. "Yes," she replied. "Yes, I will"

Grinning, he pulled the ring out and slid the ring onto her finger before placing a small kiss on her hand. Pulling back, he watched as she stepped closer to him and wrapped her arms around his neck before pressing a kiss to his lips.

They kissed for a few seconds before breaking apart. Blushing, he looked at her. "Come on," he signed. "Our families are waiting for us."

She nodded and reached out her hand to stop him. "They knew, didn't they?" she asked. "This is why everyone was so weird this morning."

He nodded. "They did. I asked your father a few months ago and Anna, she found out because she was snooping. I'm sorry, El. It wasn't easy to keep this from you. Heck, I wanted to propose to you three years ago, but I thought that we should get through our studies first so that we can dedicate more time to the wedding," he admitted.

"Can we get married at home?" Elsa asked, looking at him.

Jack nodded. "We can, I've got some money saved from work. If you want an Arendelle wedding, then you will get an Arendelle wedding. I want what you want," he replied, smiling at her.

Elsa shook her head, reaching her hand up to stroke his face before pulling back. "No, Jack, home is here, where you are. I want to marry here. You are my home," she said, smiling.

He smiled and reached over to wrap his arms around his fiancee, bringing her to rest by his side as the words sunk in. He had a family and a future with the woman of his dreams. So long as they had each other, they had a home.

* * *

><p><strong>ANote: Whew, so this is it, this is the very last chapter. I want to thank each and every one of you for reading, reviewing and responding to this story. It's been quite a journey, and in my research I've come to learn a tiny bit about Deaf culture, sign language. I've strived to provide the most up to date information which I can find and as always, the focus on this story was always on Jack and Elsa.**

**I'd really like to give an incredible amount of thanks to Zulka. Zulka is a fellow Jelsa fan-fic author who is studying ASL at university in the USA and has been incredibly supportive, and has passed on information and tips that she'd learned, as well as providing me with information that I'd not have known without her.**

**Other information has been obtained from various websites such as websites, forums and you tube videos. I will be honest and say that this story, the lessons I've learned from it have truly impacted me, changed the way I view things and have made me more aware of things that I'd previously been unaware of.**

**I'd also like to thank my good friend and fellow Jelsa fanfic author Oninoko for always being there to bounce ideas off of, give feedback and whatnot. If you're not already checking out her stories- then I highly recommend you do so.**

**Thank you to Luann L who surprised me with the most adorable Jelsa Halloween picture on Tumblr inspired by the Halloween scene in this story.**

**It's going to be weird to say goodbye to 'Deaf Jack', but there is a new story to be told, the first chapter has already been posted and is called 'The Princess and the Carpenter'.**

**Thank you all.**


End file.
